National Committee Member Cao Peng Advocates for Enhanced Implementation of Consumer Goods Replacement Policy in Rural Areas

In early February this year, Zou Lihua, a resident of a fishing village on Dachangshan Island in Dalian, Liaoning Province, received a 65-inch large-screen television that her son purchased from JD.com using the national subsidy. The clear picture of the large-screen TV added to the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. When placing the order, her son combined the national subsidy with JD.com's trade-in program, saving five to six hundred yuan, which brought great satisfaction to the elderly person who has been frugal all her life. Similarly, Niu Jinya, also from the island, was overjoyed with the full set of smart appliances in her new home. After equipping her home with air conditioners, a television, and whole-house smart systems, the residence felt full of technological sophistication. "I took advantage of the national subsidy to outfit the new home with all the necessary appliances and digital products. Combining the national subsidy policy with JD.com coupons saved me over two thousand yuan," she said. With JD.com's support, the national subsidy policy has traversed mountains and seas, reaching even remote islands.

Since the beginning of the year, the pace of home appliance replacements in rural hometowns and counties has accelerated significantly. Sales of large appliances like air conditioner sets and wall-mounted washing machines have increased more than sixfold year-over-year. Orders for nationally subsidized TVs, air conditioners, and refrigerators have seen substantial growth in remote rural areas of Heilongjiang, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. Behind this surge in replacement orders lies JD.com's establishment of a supply chain and service network covering both urban and rural areas, ensuring that subsidized goods smoothly reach every village.

However, despite continuous improvements to the policy framework, several key bottlenecks remain in the implementation of rural subsidies, affecting policy effectiveness and the sense of benefit among farmers. Cao Peng, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chairman of the Technology Committee of JD.com Group, stated in an interview, "The implementation of the 'Two New' policies in county and rural areas still faces some obstacles, including insufficient promotion and mobilization, a lack of dedicated funding guidance, and offline stores lacking necessary qualifications. These issues prevent many rural consumers from enjoying the benefits of technology and policy." The 2026 Government Work Report, when outlining actions to boost consumption, explicitly mentioned for the first time "stimulating consumption vitality in lower-tier markets." Promoting the deeper implementation of the consumer goods replacement policy in rural areas has become a key focus for Cao Peng.

How can the advancement of rural subsidies be deepened? Cao Peng's recommendations are: intensify the promotion of subsidies in rural areas, establish a dedicated fund pool for rural subsidies, relax the registration requirements for offline subsidy entities, and adopt a coordinated approach to activate the rural consumption market. In Cao Peng's view, increasing promotional efforts for rural subsidies will help more rural residents benefit from the policy. "I suggest the Ministry of Commerce, together with departments like the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, organize efforts in county and rural areas to amplify the promotion of subsidies going to the countryside, and establish a joint coordination mechanism between agricultural and commercial departments," he said.

Lü Shenghua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association and Editor-in-Chief of China Household Network, believes that with the implementation of this year's subsidies, more rural consumers will be able to enjoy the policy's benefits, improving their quality of life, stimulating rural consumption vitality, and injecting more momentum into rural revitalization. Simultaneously, he noted that urban consumers have already developed the habit of claiming subsidy eligibility and shopping online. However, due to the popularity of promotional activities, consumers in some regions are unable to claim online subsidy eligibility immediately. "It is hoped that the convenience of online subsidy redemption can be maintained, allowing habitual users to continue claiming subsidies online for their consumption," Lü Shenghua said.

To further promote the revitalization of rural consumption, Cao Peng proposed establishing a dedicated fund pool for rural subsidies, allocating a specific portion of the overall subsidy budget for the rural market. This would support enterprises with rural coverage capabilities and compliant qualifications to participate, prioritizing rural online consumption. Relaxing the registration requirements for offline subsidy entities would help more township physical stores provide convenient services to rural consumers. He suggested encouraging more standardized small and medium-sized enterprises to participate, including county and rural home appliance and 3C digital stores currently without subsidy qualifications into the subsidy scope. This would benefit more rural market consumers and boost local retail sales.

Wang Wei, a second-level researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council and former Director of the Institute of Market Economy, pointed out that significant developmental differences exist between the rural and urban home appliance markets regarding product functions, usage scenarios, and sales service channels. Promoting appliance replacements in rural areas and leveraging rural consumption requires the formulation of more targeted and refined policies. On one hand, there should be a funding bias for replacement subsidies in rural areas; on the other hand, online and offline integration should be used to expand subsidy coverage, accurately define the product range suitable for the rural market, enrich product choices, effectively solve the challenges of rural appliance replacement, and activate rural consumption potential.

Jia Nan, a Standing Committee member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and former Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, believes that utilizing the mature supply chain infrastructure and technological capabilities of e-commerce platforms to serve the distribution of subsidies in rural areas can quickly promote price inclusivity and assist in county-level consumption upgrades. Simultaneously, it can drive the development of county-level e-commerce and improve the county-level digital economy ecosystem. She recommended promoting a dual-track model combining "online traffic attraction + offline infrastructure strengthening + county-level adaptation," optimizing fund allocation, and improving the service system. This would ensure policy benefits not only reach rural consumers but also drive the development of county-level实体economy, logistics improvement, and employment stability, achieving mutual empowerment between county-level consumption upgrades and economic development.

"A coordinated effort is needed to activate the rural consumption market. Through corporate initiatives and policy empowerment, we can better facilitate the deep advancement of rural subsidies, ensuring the replacement policy truly benefits hundreds of millions of rural residents," Cao Peng stated.

To ensure the national subsidy policy takes root in rural areas, in 2025, JD.com invested nearly 30 billion yuan cumulatively in townships and areas below that level, covering areas such as product subsidies, logistics fulfillment, and the construction of offline service outlets. Nearly 100,000 township service stations across the country have become important nodes for delivering subsidies, allowing villagers to enjoy replacement services synchronized with urban standards right at their doorsteps. In 2026, JD.com will continue to allocate resources for the implementation of subsidies in townships and lower-tier areas, leveraging its nationwide logistics system and tens of thousands of offline stores to better support the deep advancement of rural subsidies.

Several leading companies have expressed their intention to collaborate with JD.com to deepen the implementation of rural subsidies. Wang Chunkai, President of Midea Group's China Region, stated that Midea will deeply integrate its whole-house smart products and solid offline service capabilities with JD.com's strong traffic and digital operation capabilities to better support the implementation of the replacement policy in rural areas. "By deepening our strategic cooperation, we will jointly transform national policy benefits into accessible quality-of-life upgrades for rural consumers, contributing Midea's strength to boosting rural consumption, promoting the普及of green and smart appliances, and high-quality industrial development," he said.

Zhao Yanfeng, Vice President of Haier Group and General Manager of Haier Smart Home's China Region, stated that Haier always adheres to a user-centric approach, focusing on the "first experience" of users. In 2026, Haier and JD.com will leverage the platform's omni-channel coverage, efficient online subsidy verification, and county-level service network advantages to bridge the urban-rural consumption and service chain, jointly enhancing the convenience of replacement and user experience. By implementing policy guidance through both products and channels, they aim to promote the industry's green, intelligent, and high-end upgrade, jointly foster the high-quality development of the home appliance industry, and deepen the advancement of the consumer goods replacement policy in rural areas.

Yin Zhixin, President of Hisense's China Region, noted that the demand for green and smart appliances in the rural market continues to heat up. However, hindered by issues like insufficient service coverage and poor information reach, the policy dividends have not been fully realized. "To this end, we look forward to deepening our collaboration with JD.com, relying on its omni-channel advantages across online and offline platforms. With the continued strengthening and optimization of the distribution mechanism for the consumer goods replacement policy, we aim to enable tens of millions of consumers to 'receive subsidies effectively, quickly, and stably,' truly achieving multi-party synergy and win-win outcomes characterized by 'policy benefiting farmers, platform empowerment, and brand responsibility,'" Yin Zhixin said.