Some business sectors that encourage the consumption markets to go green, healthy and safe in China are expected to see a boom in the next few years, if the government's latest guidelines and environment-conscious consumers' demand are any indication.

Green consumption focuses on spending that satisfies consumers who care for the environment. Such consumers tend to prefer products whose manufacture, distribution and consumption entail only a negligible impact on the environment.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China will stabilize and expand consumption, expanding domestic demand as a strategic move and fully tapping the potential of the domestic market, according to the Government Work Report released at this year's session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 5.

"We will steadily improve people's consumption capacity and the environment for consumption and ensure that our people have the ability and willingness to spend, thus improving their lives and driving economic development," said Premier Li Keqiang in the Government Work Report.

According to the draft outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China will continue to enhance the fundamental role of consumption in economic growth. The government will promote green and healthy consumption, and encourage the development of new consumption patterns and new business formats.

The country aims to accomplish remarkable achievements in the transformation to a greener way of production and lifestyles, and continue to improve the ecological environment and reduce emissions of major pollutants, according to the outline.

China will encourage steady increases in spending on home appliances, automobiles, and other big-ticket items, and abolish excessive restrictions on sales of secondhand vehicles, the report said.

Zhang Jindong, a deputy to the 13th NPC and chairman of Suning Holdings Group, one of the largest retailers in China, said the government should guide consumers to enhance their awareness of energy conservation, and the need for timely replacement of old household appliances with energy-efficient, environmentally friendly products.

"We should improve the recycling mechanism of waste home appliances, create a closed-loop industry of trade-in services, and thus contribute to a green consumption cycle and develop circular economy," he said.

In 2019, the world produced a record 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste. From 2014 to 2019, the volume of the waste increased 21 percent, said a report released by the United Nations last year.

Small equipment including vacuum cleaners and microwave ovens accounted for the largest chunk - 32 percent - of the total electronic waste. Scrapped electronic appliances have become the fastest-growing domestic garbage globally.

That's due to the constant evolution of technologies, which makes products made with previous versions obsolete sooner than expected, according to the UN report.

China's largest secondhand electronics recycling platform All Things Renew, formerly known as Aihuishou, saw the number of recycling orders at its stores nationwide surge more than 500 percent year-on-year during this year's Spring Festival holiday in February. It also saw a surge in the volume of trade-in services.

Most of its outlets are located at central business districts of major cities, and consumers can conveniently bring their used products to the stores. The company said buying secondhand stuff has become a new trend, especially among young consumers, and the penetration rate of secondhand consumption is rising in China.

Although full-year data for 2020 are yet to be released, sales of secondhand products last year in China are expected to reach 1.04 trillion yuan ($160 billion), growing 17.7 percent over the previous year, according to a projection by the LeadLeo Research Institute, a market research provider.

"More than 70 percent of secondhand product buyers are young people aged between 18 and 35, and more than 70 percent of the total have bachelor's or master's degrees," said Li Jincan, an analyst of LeadLeo.

"The demographic is more open-minded and receptive to used goods. They look for affordable and quality products with high cost performance. This buying behavior can help consumers to save money and help the society to save more resources and achieve sustainable development," she said.

In late February, the State Council, the country's Cabinet, issued a guideline aimed at accelerating the development of a green and low-carbon economic system.

The guideline calls for an effort to boost efficiency in the use of resources, strengthen the protection of the ecological environment, and effectively control greenhouse gas emissions.

By 2025, China is expected to see a marked rise in the scale of green industries. The document outlined key measures to meet the targets, including the growth of green consumption.

The government will increase its procurement of green products, and gradually expand such a system to State-owned enterprises. Besides, the government plans to strengthen the management of excessive packaging, and urge producers to comply with the mandatory standards of non-excessive packaging of goods.

Chinese-owned, Germany-rooted Scholz Recycling GmbH, one of the world's largest battery and metal recyclers, started to build a new industrial park this year in Binzhou, Shandong province, together with Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co Ltd, one of the world's largest primary aluminum producers. The plant is capable of handling and recycling a diverse range of materials.

With an investment of 1.5 billion yuan, the plant aims to process 100,000 end-of-life vehicles or ELVs annually, and an ELV pretreatment center will start operations in September. Besides, the plant will produce 500,000 tons of aluminum from recycled materials, and the production line is planned to be put into use by the end of this year.

"We have established our first contacts on the operational level in September amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We have full confidence that China is recovering faster from the necessary economic shutdowns than any other country," said Rafael Suchan, CEO of Scholz Recycling.

"The 14th Five-Year Plan is also setting ambitious industrial goals to promote a true circular economy. We believe that this will generate sustainable and green jobs that are necessary to overcome the aftermath of the pandemic."

The plant is foreseen to help reduce carbon emissions of 1.9 million tons every year, according to the company.

Scholz said it is actively working to support China's circular economy plans.
It will also establish a research and development center in Binzhou to develop its capacities for battery R&D in China, and introduce a group of research professionals from Europe to the city to accelerate green development and strengthen the network with local universities.

As China's economic growth gathered momentum in recent years, domestic supply of scrap metal has been growing. Car ownership in China has been increasing as well; so is the number of ELVs.

Scholz said with the recent enactment of updated administrative policy for ELVs, the company sees a fresh growth opportunity. The right time to enter the rapidly growing ELV segment and the metal recycling market in China is now, Suchan said.

The company has achieved a recycling rate of 97 percent in ELVs, which is above the EU standard. Scholz filters 99 percent of the metals from fine-grained residuals.

More car parks and electric vehicle battery charging and swapping facilities will be built in China, and the system for recycling power batteries will be developed at a faster pace, according to the latest Government Work Report.