To fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and all the plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and act in accordance with the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council including the Opinions on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transition of Economic and Social Development and the Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption, the Ministry of Commerce and eight other ministries and commissions have recently jointly issued the Circular on Implementing the Action for Promoting Green Consumption (hereinafter referred to as the Circular), which sets out the arrangements for green consumption work during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Centered on improving the incentive mechanism for green consumption, the Circular puts forward 20 specific measures in seven key areas, covering agricultural products, home appliances and home decoration, catering and accommodation, among others. It also clarifies supporting policies in the financial sector and optimizes the green consumption environment. The aim is to pool the synergies of policy guidance, market-driven forces and public participation, promote the popularization of green consumption behaviors, the maturation of market mechanisms and the formation of a national social consensus on green consumption. This will inject green impetus into high-quality development, foster the adoption of green and low-carbon production and living modes, and accelerate the green transition of consumption patterns.

Focusing on the high-quality supply in the field of people's livelihood security, the Circular takes green development as the underlying tone of high-quality development. It emphasizes enriching the supply of green products, increasing the provision of green agricultural products, promoting green home appliances and home decoration, and boosting green consumption in the automobile sector. It also requires upgrading green service consumption, developing green catering, green accommodation and green housekeeping services to meet people's aspirations for a better life.

The Circular stresses fostering new growth drivers for green consumption, proposing to build green supply chains, conduct carbon footprint assessments for supply chains, and promote green procurement, green products and green packaging. It encourages the promotion of green consumption points, explores the establishment of a universal green consumption points system redeemable both online and offline, advances the certification and labeling of green products, standardizes the collection of green consumption points at the retail end, and supports public service entities in providing conveniences or preferential treatment to users with green consumption points. It calls for innovating green sharing models, developing green leasing services, encouraging shared travel, shared space and shared articles, and promoting the efficient utilization of resources. In the meantime, the Circular highlights advancing the green and circular recycling system, guiding the reduction in the use of disposable plastic products, promoting the recycling and reuse of waste, developing the circulation of second-hand goods, and building a resource circulation system featuring "reduction - recycling - reuse".

The Circular mandates optimizing the green consumption environment, proposing to promote energy-saving facilities and equipment and prioritize the use of green electricity. It calls for popularizing the concept of green consumption, advocating that consumers adopt green travel modes, bring their own water cups, cloth bags and toiletries, choose low-carbon products with simple packaging, and reduce the use of disposable tableware. It requires strengthening public opinion guidance and publicity, encouraging the holding of community-themed activities on green consumption, and disseminating the concepts of green consumption and low-carbon living. The Circular also stipulates nurturing green circulation entities and consolidating the foundational work for green consumption. It calls for increasing policy support, and strengthening financial guarantees through policy subsidies, credit support and financial product innovation.

Going forward, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to guide all regions in carrying out work related to the Action for Promoting Green Consumption, timely summarize good experiences and practices in boosting green consumption, further expand green consumption, and support the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development.