Subsidy program to aid phase-out of old commercial trucks

The Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission have issued a notice rolling out a 2026 subsidy program to accelerate the replacement of old commercial trucks.

The program, effective throughout the whole year, provides financial incentives for scrapping and replacing heavy — and medium-duty trucks that comply with the older emission standards. A focus is promoting the transition to new energy vehicles, with priority support given to the purchase of electric trucks.

The subsidy amounts vary based on the vehicle type, scrapping time and the type of new vehicle purchased. The maximum combined subsidy for scrapping an old truck and purchasing a new electric truck can reach up to 140,000 yuan ($20,500) per vehicle .

Funding for the subsidies will be allocated to local governments through ultra-long-term special treasury bonds. If the central government allocation is exhausted, any additional funding required must be covered by local finances.

Initiative to boost deep AI integration with industrial growth

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Data Administration have launched an action plan to foster synergistic development between artificial intelligence models and data resources to empower new industrialization.

The initiative targets 20 key manufacturing sectors, including steel, automobiles, medical equipment, aerospace and electronic components. Its core objective is to establish a self-reinforcing loop that connects data, AI models and practical industrial applications by the end of this year.

Key tasks outlined include building high-quality general and specialized industry datasets, and developing industry-specific models and intelligent agents.

According to the established timeline, provincial authorities and relevant State-owned enterprises directly administered by the central government are required to submit detailed implementation plans by May 30, provide a mid-term progress report by Aug 30, and submit a final summary by Nov 30.