How will the “Two New” policies be optimized for implementation in 2026? How will investment be stabilized with greater effort? How will the construction of a unified national market be advanced in greater depth? A recent press conference addressed these current hot topics in economic work.
Optimization of the “Two New” Policies
Fund Allocation and Support Scope
A recent notice proposes optimizing the implementation of the 2026 “Two New” policies in terms of support scope, subsidy standards, and implementation mechanisms.
Regarding consumer goods trade-ins, issues such as intermittent and unpredictable subsidies, subsidy fraud, and “price hikes before subsidies” emerged in 2025. Based on this, a targeted improvement of the policy implementation mechanism for 2026 has been developed—
Optimizing fund allocation methods: In addition to the original allocation criteria, factors such as prior policy execution and audit findings will be comprehensively considered to reasonably determine fund allocation scales for different regions. Simultaneously, regions with severe delays in subsidy payments will face increased supervision and penalties through appropriate measures. Ensuring balanced and orderly fund usage: At the national level, the work pace will continue to be reasonably managed, with funds allocated in quarterly batches. At the local level, guidance will be provided for balanced and orderly subsidy expenditures, ensuring smooth transitions across weeks, months, and quarters. Local authorities are required to establish a subsidy fund pre-allocation system to alleviate corporate funding pressure. Cracking down on illegal activities: This will focus on strict fund verification, strict price management, and strict regulatory enforcement.
Regarding equipment upgrades, some enterprises reported not benefiting from the policy due to insufficient internal funds or project investment amounts failing to meet application thresholds. Accordingly, 2026 work will also undergo targeted optimization to support more enterprises in equipment upgrades and expand policy coverage. First, optimizing the scope: While generally continuing the 2025 support scope, subsidies will be added in three main areas: in the民生领域, adding elevator installations in old residential communities and equipment updates for elderly care institutions; in the safety领域, adding updates for fire rescue and inspection/testing equipment; in consumer infrastructure, adding equipment updates for offline commercial facilities like shopping malls, department stores, and large supermarkets. Second, further optimizing the project application mechanism and review process, significantly lowering investment amount thresholds. Among 22 fields, most will have no threshold; only a few fields will have low thresholds to ensure project quality and improve fund utilization efficiency. Third, strengthening supervision: Through online and offline methods, full-chain supervision of equipment upgrade projects will be enhanced to effectively address enterprise concerns and improve fund utilization efficiency.
2026 Advance Batch “Two Major” Construction Project List
Has Been Organized and Issued
To further expand effective investment, the 2026 advance batch “Two Major” construction project list and central budget investment plan have been organized and issued, totaling approximately 295 billion yuan.
For the “Two Major” construction, emphasizing their strategic nature and adopting a top-down approach while integrating hardware and software, about 220 billion yuan has been allocated to support 281 projects in areas such as urban underground pipelines, high-standard farmland, the “Three-North” Shelterbelt Program, and effectively reducing overall social logistics costs, further highlighting the strategic, forward-looking, and comprehensive nature of “Two Major” construction.
For central budget investment, focusing on public areas requiring concentrated efforts, sustained investment, and addressing weaknesses, structural adjustment, and public welfare, over 75 billion yuan has been allocated to support 673 projects in urban renewal, water conservancy, ecological protection and restoration, pollution control, energy conservation, and carbon reduction, fully leveraging the guiding and driving role of government investment.
Simultaneously, a series of “soft infrastructure” measures are being accelerated to promote efficient use of various funds and continuously improve investment efficiency. For example, promoting the improvement of investment and financing models for urban underground pipeline construction/renovation and pricing mechanisms for municipal public utilities,健全灌区农业节水激励机制, accelerating the improvement of modern logistics标准体系, and着力构建固体废弃物综合治理体系, to foster long-term mechanisms for project construction, implementation, operation, and maintenance.
Recently, several major infrastructure projects have been approved or given the green light, including transportation facilities like the Guangzhou New Airport and the new Zhanjiang to Haikou cross-sea ferry and related line projects; water conservancy facilities like the Liaodong Peninsula Water Resources Allocation Project in Liaoning Province and the Nanguaping Reservoir Project in Lijiang, Yunnan Province; energy facilities like the Zhejiang Ultra-High Voltage AC Grid Project and the Dadu River Danba Hydropower Station in Sichuan; and research facilities like major scientific research platforms for the Huairou and Yazhouwan laboratories.
