Equipment renewals estimated to create 5-trln-yuan market: official

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- China's move to promote a new round of large-scale equipment renewals is estimated to create an enormous market worth more than 5 trillion yuan (about 704 billion U.S. dollars), a senior official said Wednesday.

With the further advancement of high-quality development in China, the demand for equipment renewals will only get stronger, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the national legislature.

The Chinese government recently approved an action plan to promote large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods.

"Talking about consumer goods, at the end of last year, the number of cars for civilian-use purposes in China has reached 336 million, and the number of household appliances in major categories such as refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners has also exceeded 3 billion units. Therefore, the upgrade of consumer goods such as automobiles and home appliances is also expected to create a trillion-yuan market," Zheng said.