Ministry of Commerce: Localities have allocated 2.05 billion yuan to directly benefit consumers during the Spring Festival holiday.

Source: Securities Daily Network Staff Reporter Liu Meng

On February 11, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the 2026 “LeGou New Year” Spring Festival special activities and measures to ensure market supply during the holiday.

Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated that the Ministry of Commerce will guide local authorities to increase old-for-new subsidy amounts during the Spring Festival, instruct 50 pilot cities to carry out prize-winning invoice activities, and intensify the distribution of bonuses during the holiday. Various departments and regions will also fully integrate high-quality consumer resources across sectors to launch a series of beneficial measures. It is understood that local authorities have allocated 2.05 billion yuan, which will be used over the nine-day holiday through the issuance of consumer vouchers, subsidies, red envelopes, and other forms to directly benefit consumers.

According to Sheng Qiuping, the “LeGou New Year” Spring Festival special activities have prepared three major gift packages for consumers:

The first is old-for-new exchanges. At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, allocated the first batch of 62.5 billion yuan in national subsidies, which have already reached local commerce departments. During the nine-day holiday, local authorities will be guided to increase subsidy distribution to fully ensure consumers can apply for subsidies according to policy requirements.

The second is prize-winning invoices. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration confirmed that 50 cities will pilot prize-winning invoices, with a total of 10 billion yuan in awards and subsidies to be distributed over six months. During the nine-day holiday, the bonus pool will exceed 1 billion yuan. Consumers shopping, dining, traveling, or staying in pilot cities with invoices over 100 yuan can participate in the lottery.

The third is financial support. The People’s Bank of China and the Financial Regulatory Administration will guide financial institutions and payment agencies to collaborate with merchants to launch various “LeGou New Year” discount measures, covering sectors such as airline tickets, hotels, dining, and scenic spot tickets.

“Welcome friends from all countries to experience China during the Spring Festival. We have also prepared a full policy package,” Sheng Qiuping said. For example, in terms of “Comfortable Shopping,” efforts will be made to improve payment environments for bank cards, mobile payments, and cash, providing a convenient and quick shopping experience for international travelers. Regarding “Enjoying Discounts,” 13,000 duty-free stores will stock a wide range of quality products, allowing foreign visitors to enjoy an additional 10% discount when shopping in China.

Fujian Hanzhao, head of the Industry Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, stated that to better meet the needs of the public for a joyful Spring Festival holiday, the Ministry will present a rich cultural and tourism feast from three aspects: special activities, beneficial measures, and scene innovations.

It is reported that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has launched seven major sections with 22 themed activities around the theme “Happy New Year,” including “Cultural Spring Festival · Art for the People,” “Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrates the New Year · Tasting Chinese New Year,” and “Celebrating the New Year in Cultural and Museum Venues,” enriching the cultural life of the public. Meanwhile, the “Happy Spring Festival” and “Hello! China” national tourism image promotion activities are being held in over 100 countries and regions worldwide, inviting more foreigners to celebrate the Chinese New Year in China. Various regions are also organizing distinctive cultural and tourism activities centered on customs, performances, national trends, ice and snow tourism, cold avoidance travel, and family visits.

Additionally, more beneficial measures are being implemented to make the public feel warmer. A nationwide Spring Festival cultural and tourism consumption month is underway, with strengthened coordination among relevant units and organizations to introduce a series of people-friendly initiatives. For example, trade unions at all levels, in cooperation with cultural and tourism departments, launched the “Send Blessings · Into Ten Thousand Homes” public welfare activity. Civil aviation and other departments are providing convenience for different groups such as seniors, family groups, and inbound travelers in ticketing, transportation, and guided tours. Financial institutions and platform companies have also introduced measures to support Spring Festival cultural and tourism consumption. Local governments will also distribute over 360 million yuan in consumer vouchers, ticket discounts, and coupon-linked benefits to provide more tangible benefits to the public.

Regarding the support from participating financial institutions for consumer needs in the “LeGou New Year” activities, Guo Wuping, spokesperson for the Financial Regulatory Administration and Director of Policy Research Department, stated that in the field of goods consumption, financial institutions are required to increase personal consumer loan issuance, reasonably determine loan ratios, terms, and interest rates, actively support old-for-new exchanges of automobiles, home appliances, and home improvement products, and further leverage platforms for auto insurance and used car information services. They will accelerate the development of a comprehensive classification system for insured vehicle models to strongly promote automobile consumption.

In the service consumption sector, efforts will be made to combine promoting consumption with benefiting people’s livelihoods, better meet the needs for elderly care and health services, encourage the development of commercial insurance annuity products that combine risk protection and wealth management, and support the development of commercial medical insurance benefiting chronic disease patients and the elderly. The development of long-term commercial nursing insurance will also be vigorously promoted.

In the new consumption field, the integration of online services and offline support will be strengthened, continuously enhancing financial services and consumption scenarios. Using mobile devices and applying internet and big data technologies, channels for online financial support for consumption will be expanded. Financial institutions and merchants are encouraged to develop financial products and services tailored to new consumption characteristics, supporting the growth of digital, experiential, intelligent, and customized consumption models.

(Edited by Zhang Xin)

(Edited by Wen Jing)

Keywords: Consumption Ministry of Commerce