National People's Congress Representative Shan Zenghai: The Used Equipment Market Will Become a New Golden Growth Point for the Construction Machinery Industry

By Fang Chao and Shi Yingjing, Shanghai Reporting

"China is one of the largest construction machinery markets in the world, with over 9 million used construction machinery units, and the market size continues to expand, expected to reach 150 billion yuan by 2025," said Shan Zenghai, National People's Congress (NPC) representative and Chief Engineer, Vice President of XCMG. Shan believes the used equipment market will become a new golden growth point for the construction machinery industry.

According to Shan, the used construction machinery market in China is still in its early stages of development and lacks regulation. It faces issues like low market transparency and a lack of quality assessment standards, which severely restrict the circulation of used construction machinery both domestically and internationally. These problems hinder the transformation of industry dynamics and the high-quality development of the sector.

The reporter from China Business News learned that during the 2025 National People's Congress, Shan Zenghai proposed supporting the standardization and regulation of the used construction machinery market to promote green and circular development within the industry.

"Regulating the registration, evaluation, trading, exit, and supervision of used construction machinery, while establishing a standard system that covers critical processes such as inspection, evaluation, and remanufacturing, is crucial. This would streamline the external trade chain of used construction machinery and significantly contribute to the sustainable and green development of the industry, enhancing China's construction machinery sector's influence in the global market," Shan emphasized.

Despite China being the largest construction machinery market in the world, the used equipment market is still in the early stages of development.

"Currently, the domestic construction machinery market has shifted from an incremental market to a stock market. Compared with international mature markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, where nearly 70% of profits come from the aftermarket, including a large portion from used machinery, China's used construction machinery market still has vast untapped potential," Shan added.

However, despite the enormous growth potential, the used construction machinery market faces numerous challenges.

"China's construction machinery aftermarket has seen little investment and started late. The market structure remains fragmented. In recent years, the government has introduced policies and regulations to develop the used machinery market in an orderly and healthy way, but there is still a lack of effective coordination and unified standards at the national and industry levels." Shan pointed out that issues such as non-transparent equipment information and inconsistent pricing standards persist.

"Establishing a comprehensive standard system for used construction machinery is critical to regulating market behavior, protecting consumer rights, and promoting the circulation of used machinery," he stressed. Shan also highlighted that driving exports of used construction machinery is an important opportunity for advancing domestic and international dual-circulation development.

Given the vast market development space, how should the used construction machinery market be regulated and standardized?

"Further regulation and improvement of the used construction machinery market order and standard system" was Shan's suggestion. He proposed specific actions such as "establishing regional used construction machinery trading centers in industry clusters," "accelerating the development of relevant policies and regulations," and "perfecting the standard system for used machinery."

For example, regarding the suggestion to "establish regional used construction machinery trading centers in industry clusters," Shan emphasized the use of industry cluster advantages such as technology, talent, and industrial strength to provide a one-stop service for displaying, selling, evaluating, auctioning, and transferring used machinery. Additionally, a digital platform for used equipment trading should be established to regulate market behavior, increase transparency, and promote healthy industry development.

Regarding the "perfecting the standard system for used construction machinery," Shan proposed "focusing on the development of industry standards for remanufacturing quality evaluation, equipment value assessment, and acceptance specifications for used machinery," which would enhance equipment credibility and boost market activity.

The reporter also noted that to further advance the standardization of the used construction machinery market and promote green circular development, Shan proposed increasing policy support for innovation in the industry.

"Further introduce tax incentives, financing support, and other guiding policies to encourage enterprises to invest more in used equipment leasing, trading, repair, and remanufacturing," Shan suggested. He also highlighted the need to support industry leaders in innovating new development models for used machinery, using digital and online resources to link upstream and downstream, and creating a circular business model for the used machinery market to drive healthy and regulated industry development.

Moreover, as the Chinese used construction machinery market accelerates its entry into the international arena, Shan underscored the growing importance of improving related policies and strengthening oversight.

"Speed up the development of policies for the export of used construction machinery and continuously update and expand the Used Machinery Product Directory, covering more used construction machinery equipment," Shan concluded. He also called for stronger quality supervision of used equipment exports to "continuously enhance the international operating capabilities and influence of Chinese branded used machinery."