BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) — Since the beginning of the year, Jiangsu Tengsheng Textile Technology Group Co., Ltd. has been a hub of activity. Their participation in a national initiative has set the textile manufacturer on a promising path for a brighter future.
“Upon completion of the renewal, our equipment will achieve a leading standard within the domestic industry,” said Chen Guichun, deputy general manager of the company located in east China’s Jiangsu Province. “We expect this upgrade to boost our efficiency by over 5 percent and increase output per unit by around 20 percent.”
The company’s efforts are part of the China’s large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in program, which was launched in March 2024. The program entails various government departments utilizing ultra-long special treasury bonds to accelerate the implementation of related measures, with the aim of stimulating investment and consumption.
The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, announced last month an increase in its relending for technological innovation and technical transformation from 500 billion yuan (about 69.6 billion U.S. dollars) to 800 billion yuan. Additionally, it has lowered the relending rate from 1.75 percent to 1.5 percent.
This increase is part of the central bank’s structural monetary tools aimed at expanding domestic demand, said Ding Zhijie, head of a research institute at the central bank. “It will provide unwavering support for the implementation of the equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in program,” Ding said during the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.
“It took only four months from application to receiving government support, which is highly efficient for us,” said Xu Guoqiang, assistant manager of a power battery production subsidiary of Chilwee Group Co., Ltd., located in east China’s Zhejiang Province.
According to Xu, the company invested a total of 60 million yuan in equipment renewal, with over 8 million yuan of the investment being government-funded.
Similarly, numerous companies across the country’s key industrial sectors have undertaken equipment renewal and are reaping the benefits. In April, the added value of China’s major high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing sectors both saw a year-on-year increase of 10 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Over a year since its launch, this national program has successfully tapped into the vast potential of China’s domestic market. In the first four months of this year, investment in equipment and instruments surged by 18.2 percent compared to the previous year. This increase accounted for 64.5 percent of the overall investment growth during this period, according to the bureau.
Ding Lin, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at China Economic Roundtable that China, as the world’s second-largest economy with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, has enormous potential to unlock in order to expand domestic demand.
To this end, the country should explore more approaches to increase people’s income and boost consumer capacity, while further optimizing its pro-consumption policies, Ding said.
In addition to advancing equipment renewal nationwide, Ding said that the NDRC, China’s top economic planner, will allocate 800 billion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds to support the country’s major national strategies and bolster security capacity in key areas. Ding described the fund as a “proactive move” to stimulate effective investment.
“We will accelerate project construction and fund allocation to achieve tangible outcomes as soon as possible,” Ding added. ■
