Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 24Title: How to ensure the "new"? Where to go for the "old"? -- Many places promote the old-for-new exchange of home appliances

Xinhua News Agency reporter

Since the implementation of the relevant policies and measures for the old-for-new exchange of home appliances, what is the effect? The reporter recently conducted research in Chongqing, Guangdong, Hubei and other places and learned that local governments, home appliance companies, sales platforms, etc. have launched various forms of old-for-new exchange activities, allowing consumers to exchange for "new" and keep "old", and the policy effect of the old-for-new exchange is beginning to show.

Affordable and worry-free replacement with guarantee

In Chongqing Jingdong Appliance Super Experience Store, customer Ms. You is preparing to replace an old air conditioner that she has used at home for almost 10 years. "The more environmentally friendly and energy-saving the home appliance, the higher the subsidy. This first-class energy-efficient floor-standing air conditioner costs more than 9,000 yuan, and it enjoys a subsidy of up to 20%, which can save nearly 2,000 yuan."

"There are discounts for buying new machines, and subsidies for replacing old machines." Walking into the Gongmao Home Appliances Hangkong Road Store in Jianghan District, Wuhan, the on-site shopping guide told reporters, "For the recycling of air conditioner cabinets, you can get a maximum of 500 yuan in corporate replacement subsidies. If the purchase price of a new machine is more than 1,000 yuan, you can also enjoy government consumption voucher subsidies."

To promote the old-for-new exchange of green smart home appliances, Wuhan has invested a total of 30 million yuan in fiscal funds in this round and issued subsidy vouchers for the old-for-new exchange of green smart home appliances.

Under the support of the new round of old-for-new policy, many places have put forward plans, allocated funds, and given policies to promote the in-depth development of old-for-new home appliances.

Chongqing issued the "Love Chongqing" Consumer Goods Old-for-New Implementation Plan, which is expected to form a subsidy scale of over 2 billion yuan for the old-for-new policy; Guangdong Provincial Finance has arranged 370 million yuan in the first round of funds to support the development of consumer goods old-for-new activities; Hubei strives to achieve 1 million home appliances for old-for-new this year...

Related companies have also taken action. Replacing with new ones is not only affordable in price, but also guaranteed in service.

Provide free door-to-door air conditioning cleaning, water heater testing, clothing washing and care...Not long ago, an "old-for-new into the community" event was held in various communities in Cuntan Street, Liangjiang New District, Chongqing.

"Using services to promote the policy of trade-in, more than 180 customers were attracted to the store to participate in the trade-in activity in one week." Tian Haochen, deputy general manager of the Chongqing branch of JD Five Star Appliance Group, said that since the trade-in activity was launched in late April, the sales of the super experience store have increased by nearly 50% year-on-year.

Some merchants have also extended the service chain. Zhang Yiju, general manager of Chongqing Yingfeng Home Appliance Sales Co., Ltd., said: "Consumers only need to place an order, and we provide a one-stop service of delivering new, dismantling old, installing new, and collecting old."

Green and efficient collection of old is smoother

Huang Xiaquan, a citizen living in Yubei District, Chongqing, opened the mobile app "Chengyu Recycling" and placed an order with one click to make an appointment for the recycling of old air conditioners. In less than 2 hours, the staff came to dismantle and recycle the old machine. After evaluation, his family's air conditioner, which had been used for 7 years, was finally recycled at a price of 300 yuan.

For consumers, in addition to going to physical stores to trade in old appliances for new ones, they can also recycle old appliances through online platforms without leaving home.

"The new round of policies particularly emphasizes the construction of recycling and circulation networks." The person in charge of Yixin Technology Co., Ltd., the operator of "Chengyu Recycling", told reporters that the Chongqing Liangjiang New District, where the company is located, will provide rewards and subsidies to recycling companies based on 20% of their actual investment from January to September this year to help them build a circulation network.

How will the recycled old home appliances be disposed of?

Walking into Wuhan Green Recycling Electronic Waste Disposal Co., Ltd., in a factory covering an area of 658 acres, old refrigerators and televisions are being weighed, classified, and labeled with QR codes one by one.

"Refrigerator door seals, circuit boards and other components will be disassembled, the refrigerant inside the box will be recycled simultaneously, and waste plastics and metals will enter the reuse cycle." He Chaochao, recycling director of Wuhan Green Recycling Electronic Waste Disposal Co., Ltd., introduced that in order to cope with the wave of old home appliances being scrapped that may be brought about by the new round of home appliance replacement, the current factory is continuously improving the processing efficiency of waste plastics by improving the sorting system.

In the recycling service network of Midea Group, each old machine to be recycled will generate a unique barcode, from door-to-door, logistics transportation, warehousing, to dismantling, scrapping and other links, the green recycling process is traceable.

"After the door-to-door dismantling, the old machines will be sorted and sent to the green dismantling enterprises authorized by the state. After standardized dismantling and processing, the resources will be recycled and reused." Yin Sheng, head of sustainable development and green recycling of Midea Group, said.

The initial results still need to continue to work hard

The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that the online sales of home appliances and furniture in April increased by 9.3% and 12.2% year-on-year, respectively, which was 2.3 and 3.2 percentage points faster than in March. The effect of the policy of replacing old appliances with new ones has begun to emerge.

The data of major e-commerce platforms is also a confirmation. In April, the sales of old appliances for new ones increased by 49.3% year-on-year, and the sales of green smart home appliances in rural areas increased by 13.85% year-on-year.

"The scale and promotion of previous activities were not as strong as this year." Fan Xiangzhong, operations director of Hubei Suning.com's store business department, said that in the past, companies used to do old-for-new activities on their own, and a lot of money was spent on marketing and promotion. Now there is a government subsidy policy, which reduces corporate costs and increases the intensity of preferential treatment, and consumers are more motivated.

Industry insiders believe that by promoting the old-for-new of home appliances, consumers can achieve product upgrades, home appliance companies can expand sales and promote production, and the recycling end will promote resource recycling through green environmental protection, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

"As a trillion-level industry in China, the home appliance industry is huge." Yin Sheng said that in 2023, the number of major categories of home appliances in China will exceed 3 billion units, and the life cycle of home appliance products is generally 8 to 10 years. A considerable part of them have been "overdue", and the demand for renewal has entered a concentrated release period.

Shu Zhiwei, president of the Wuhan Home Appliance Business Association, said that overall, this round of home appliance trade-in is still in its infancy, and the consumer end still needs a policy adaptation process, but the prospects are very worth looking forward to.

The Ministry of Commerce said that in the next step, it will encourage all regions to introduce and implement policies that benefit the people, further improve the recycling system for waste home appliances and other renewable resources, clear bottlenecks and blockages, allow consumers to obtain real convenience and benefits, and form an effective mechanism of "easier to get rid of old and more willing to replace with new", so as to smooth the consumption cycle of home appliance renewal. (Reporters Li Xiaoting, Xie Xiyao, Gong Liankang, Wu Tao)

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