China has seen notable progress in its electric bicycle trade-in campaign,driven by policy supports designed to benefit consumers.

As of Tuesday,505,700 electric bicycles have been traded in for new models nationwide as part of a mass renewal program launched earlier this year,the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

These trade-ins have driven cumulative sales of new electric bicycles to over 1.29 billion yuan(about 179.33 million U.S.dollars),according to the ministry.

It said that by Monday,it had received over 4 million applications for subsidies related to the trade-in of passenger vehicles.

Those who trade in an old car for a new energy vehicle are currently entitled to a 20,000-yuan subsidy,and those who replace a fuel-powered car with a new energy vehicle are entitled to a 15,000-yuan subsidy.

In March,China unveiled a national program to expand domestic demand and shore up its economy through equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods.Through the program,consumers receive subsidies for replacing old products ranging from phones to cars.

Official data shows that sales of major trade-in products contributed 1.2 percentage points of the country's overall retail sales growth in October.

（Picture: Veer）