Browsing through the selection of Apple iPhones in an electronics store in Tianjin in eastern China, Zhan Demi rattled off the reasons she needed to upgrade her device.

中国天津的一家电子产品商店里，詹德宓（音）一边浏览苹果手机，一边不假思索地说着她需要升级手机的理由。

Photos and videos of her toddler were quickly eating up her phone’s storage. One of her children’s teachers asked her to download various apps, again straining the limits of her device. But the factor that ultimately brought her into the store was a government trade-in program aimed at stimulating stubbornly sluggish consumer spending in China.

她现有手机的内存已被刚学会走路的孩子的照片和视频占满了。一个孩子的老师让她下载各种各样的应用程序，进一步挤占了手机内存。但最终促使她走进这家商店的原因是政府为刺激持续低迷的消费支出而推出的以旧换新政策。

Confronting a trade war with the United States, China’s government has poured $42 billion this year into a consumer trade-in program, double last year’s amount. The aim was to jolt a much-needed surge in spending at a precarious moment for the economy by subsidizing discounts for a wide variety of consumer goods, from washing machines to electric vehicles.

面对与美国的贸易战，中国政府今年将提供3000亿元资金，支持消费品以旧换新。今年的资金规模是去年的两倍，目的是通过为购买从洗衣机到电动汽车等各种消费产品提供补贴，来刺激状况不稳定的经济所急需的消费增长。

The program has proved so successful that several municipalities have suspended or curtailed the program in recent weeks to prevent the money from running out prematurely. In May, retail sales grew a surprising 6.4 percent, exceeding economists’ expectations, spurred by robust demand for smartphones and home appliances.

该政策成效显著，以至于一些城市的政府已在最近几周暂停或降低提供补贴，以防止资金过早耗尽。在对智能手机和家电产品的强劲需求推动下，5月的零售总额意外地增长了6.4%，超出了经济学家们的预期。

由于去年的经济增长乏力，中国政府为刺激消费支出，推出了耗资1500亿元的消费品以旧换新政策。而2025年的资金规模是去年的两倍。

“We want to shear wool from the sheep,” Ms. Zhan said, using a popular Chinese idiom for seizing an opportunity. She had already taken advantage of the program to buy an energy-efficient air-conditioner and other home appliances at discounts of up to 20 percent. “If we can upgrade everything at once when there’s a good deal, we’ll do it,” she said.

“我们想薅羊毛，”詹女士说，她的意思是要利用商家推出的各类优惠机会。她利用以旧换新政策，以最多可达20%的折扣购买了节能空调等家电。“如果能在有优惠的时候一次性地升级所有产品，我们就会行动，”她说。

Tepid consumer spending has been a long-running concern for China’s economy. Chinese consumers save more and spend less than those in most developed countries, even when the economy is growing at a breakneck pace. But now that growth is decelerating, lucrative jobs are disappearing and the country’s slumping property sector — a key driver of the economy and an investment destination for savings — is showing no signs of rebounding, boosting spending is critical to sustaining economic growth.

消费低迷长期困扰中国经济。与大多数发达国家的情况相比，中国消费者的储蓄率更高，更少花钱，即使是在经济高速增长的时候。但现在，经济增长已在放缓，高薪岗位正在消失，而且低迷的房地产行业没有丝毫反弹的迹象（房地产曾是中国经济增长的主要动力，也是中国人投资的主要方式），因此刺激消费对维持经济增长至关重要。

China’s usual playbook for lifting the economy may not work this time around. It cannot spend as lavishly on infrastructure as it did in the past. Its local governments are swimming in debt after decades of building airports, train stations and bridges. Its continuing trade feud with the United States and a growing global concern about the flood of inexpensive Chinese goods limit its ability to rev up the country’s factories to increase exports.

中国惯用的经济刺激手段此次可能失灵。基建投资无法延续过去的规模。地方政府几十年来一直在修建机场、火车站，以及桥梁，但现已陷入巨额债务。中国与美国持续的贸易摩擦，加上全球各地对廉价中国商品大量涌入的担忧日益增长，限制了中国提高工厂生产、增加出口的能力。

In a reflection of the challenges facing policymakers, Ms. Zhan said that, despite spending through the trade-in program, she was also cutting back. When her preferred coffee shop raised prices to $2 a cup from $1.40, she decided to buy beans and make coffee at home. She said it was natural to make such choices when the economy was not good.

詹女士说，尽管她在消费品以旧换新上花了钱，但她也在缩减其他方面的开支，这反映了中国政策制定者们面临的挑战。她常去的咖啡馆把咖啡的单价从10元提高到15元后，她决定自己买豆在家做咖啡。她说，在经济不景气的时候，做出这种选择很自然。

消费品以旧换新的目的是通过为购买电动汽车和家用电器等商品提供补贴来刺激消费。

“Many people are even unemployed, or they are forced to stop working, or their salaries are cut,” Ms. Zhan said. “Consequently, rather than just being short of money, people tend to compare and make choices with more consideration.”

“不少人甚至已经失了业，或被迫停止工作，或被降了工资，”詹女士说。“所以为了让手头的钱够用，人们更倾向于货比三家，花钱更谨慎。”

While the ruling Communist Party has paid lip service to the importance of boosting consumption for years, recent statements from top officials are growing more emphatic.

虽然执政的中国共产党多年来一直在口头上强调促进消费的重要性，但高层官员们最近的说法已更加明确。

Last month, China’s premier, Li Qiang, said the country was “intensifying efforts” to expand domestic demand with special initiatives. Speaking in Tianjin at the World Economic Forum, a meeting of business executives, government leaders and experts, he pledged to make China “a megasized consumption powerhouse on top of being a manufacturing powerhouse.”

国务院总理李强上个月表示，中国正在“加力实施扩大内需战略，开展提振消费专项行动”。在天津举行的的世界经济论坛上，李强面对与会的企业高管、政府要员以及专家，承诺“推动中国在‘制造大国’的坚实基础上成长为超大体量的‘消费大国’”。

Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, pledged this year to “fully unleash” the country’s consumers to counter the impact of a trade war with the United States.

中国最高领导人习近平今年承诺“使消费潜力充分释放出来”，以抵消中美贸易战的影响。

The current trade-in program — similar to America’s “cash for clunkers” initiative — started late last year. It initially applied to eight categories of home appliances and automobiles. The discounts range from 15 percent to 20 percent, with larger savings reserved for more energy-efficient products.

当前实施的以旧换新计划类似于美国的“旧车换现金”政策，于去年年底启动，最初只适用于八类家电和汽车，提供的补贴从15%到20%不等，节能产品的补贴更高。

China, which issued special Treasury bonds to fund the program, allocated twice as much money for it in 2025 and extended the products covered to include smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.

中国已发行了特别国债为消费品以旧换新提供资金，2025年提供的资金将是去年的两倍，产品覆盖范围已扩大到包括智能手机、平板电脑和智能手表等。

Last month, the municipal government of Chongqing, along with a few other regions, halted the subsidies. Chongqing, a city of more than 30 million people, stated that the pause was not a complete cancellation but rather a preparation for a second round of subsidies that would be available at a later date.

上个月，重庆市和其他几个地区的政府暂停了补贴。重庆是一个有3000多万人口的直辖市，市政府表示暂停补贴不是彻底取消，而是为稍后推出的第二轮补贴做准备。

国务院总理李强说，中国正在“加力实施扩大内需战略，开展提振消费专项行动”。

Despite the success of the trade-in program, economists fear that its impact on consumption will be short-lived and could lead to a decline in the second half of the year and the first half of next year. Nomura, a Japanese investment bank, estimates that retail sales in the second half of 2025 will decline 0.4 percentage points from the same period last year, and by almost one percentage point in the first half of next year.

尽管以旧换新政策取得了成功，但经济学家们担心该政策对消费的影响将是短暂的，并可能导致今年下半年和明年上半年的消费支出下滑。据日本投资银行野村证券估计，中国2025年下半年的零售额将比去年同期减少0.4个百分点，明年上半年的零售额将降低近一个百分点。

The government is exploring alternative policy options. Starting this year, China is planning to provide annual payments of $500 per child under 3 years old to families that have children, according to Bloomberg. Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said the cash handouts were a “shift in mind-set” and laid the groundwork for other measures to support consumption.

中国政府正在探索其他政策方案。据彭博新闻社报道，中国打算从今年开始向有三岁以下儿童的家庭提供每孩每年3600元的补贴。凯投宏观的中国经济学家黄子春（音）表示，提供现金补贴是一个“思维转变”，为后续消费支持措施奠定了基础。

Another factor contributing to China’s high savings rates is its sparsely funded social safety net. While most Chinese citizens are enrolled in medical and pension insurance, the benefits are limited and out-of-pocket payments are significant. Most people are not covered by unemployment or workplace injury insurance, including many of China’s 200 million gig workers.

中国高储蓄率的另一个原因是社会保障体系资金不足。虽然大多数中国公民都参加了医疗保险和养老保险，但保障力度有限，而且自付比例较高。大多数人没有失业或工伤保险，包括中国两亿零工群体中的许多人。

Zhang Dylan, a salesman for the automobile maker BYD, said he had witnessed a modest bump in sales for cars from the trade-in program. As he sat waiting for potential customers to arrive, he noted that the demand, however, was nothing like it had been two or three years ago, when orders would roll in and there was a six-month waiting list for interested buyers.

汽车制造商比亚迪的销售员张迪伦（音）说，以旧换新为汽车销量带来了小幅增长。但他在展厅等待顾客时坦言，需求仍远不及两三年前，那时买车的人接连不断，想买的人甚至需要等上六个月才能拿到车。

在中国浙江的一个物流中心，准备装入集装箱的出口货物。

Like many Chinese consumers, Mr. Zhang said he had experienced financial strain because of the real estate downturn. He and his wife bought a home in 2019 for about $265,000. Since then, its value has fallen by nearly half.

与许多中国消费者一样，张先生说，房地产市场低迷已经让他的经济状况受到影响。他和妻子2019年花大约180万买了房子。自那以后，房子的价值已跌了近一半。

Asked why he thought Chinese consumers were not spending more, Mr. Zhang said people were being tightfisted because “it is too difficult to make money.”

当被问及为何中国消费者不愿增加消费时，张先生说，人们花钱吝啬，是因为“赚钱太难”。

Inside a mall in Tianjin, Wang Mingke, a salesman at a store for the Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, said the trade-in program had spurred buying of the company’s smartphones. He said the store sold more than 30 smartphones a month, compared with 20 a month before the subsidies. A few months ago, in the early months of the initiative, the store sold 50 phones in a month.

在天津一家购物中心的小米手机专卖店，销售员王明科（音）说，消费品以旧换新刺激了公司手机的销量。他说，现在店里每月卖出30多部智能手机，而政府提供补贴前每月只卖出20部。几个月前，也就是补贴政策实施的最初几个月，该店每月曾卖出过50部手机。

Mr. Wang, 35, said the subsidy gave a little push to worried consumers to spend.

现年35岁的王先生说，补贴政策给担心花钱的消费者提供了一点消费动力。

“Everyone is talking about the economic downturn, and earning money is indeed more difficult,” he said. “As your income becomes a little lower, when it comes to discretionary spending, you might just choose not to buy for now.”

“大家都在谈论经济下行，赚钱确实更难了，”他说。“随着人们的收入减少，他们在可自由支配的支出上可能会选择暂时不买。”