China Readies Fresh $9 Billion Consumer Stimulus as Retail Sales Shrink

China will inject a fresh 62.5 billion yuan ($9.2 billion) into consumer trade-in subsidies by the end of June as the government battles the first contraction in retail sales since 2023.

The new funding arrives as a three-year stimulus campaign designed to revive domestic consumption shows mounting signs of exhaustion. The 2026 program has been scaled back to 250 billion yuan — down from 300 billion yuan in 2025 — and narrowed to focus on specific items like cars, appliances and smart glasses, signaling a gradual phase-out of the subsidies.