BEIJING, Jan 24 Reuters China39;s stimulus scheme for consumer goods tradeins boosted last year39;s consumption growth by more than 1 percentage point, Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping said on Friday, as authorities steer expansion of the plan this year.

Sales of cars, home appliances, electric bicycles and other products under the scheme launched last year reached 1.3 trillion yuan 179.45 billion, boosting 2024 retail sales growth by more than 1 percentage point, Sheng told a news conference.

In 2024, China39;s retail sales grew 3.5 yearonyear.

China will unveil more steps to boost consumption this year, including efforts to upgrade consumption and expand consumer tradeins, while accelerating the integration of domestic and foreign trade development, Sheng said.

But some analysts say the boost may only last so long.

Although we believe the tradein scheme has significantly raised durable goods sales in Q4 2024 and will boost digital goods sales in Q1 2025, we expect the positive impact to fade rapidly, followed by a payback in H2 2025, Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said in a recent note.

The special characteristics of durable goods means strong sales are not sustainable and there might also be some substitution effect, as households may shift their purchases to durable goods from other products due to the subsidies, Lu said.

China this month added more home appliances to the list of products that qualify for the consumer tradein scheme and will…