BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday that it would remove unwarranted restrictions and accelerate cross-province registration for trading used cars to promote consumption.

The ministry is working with relevant departments to accelerate the development of the used-car market by lifting restrictions on cross-region transfers, facilitating trading, promoting information sharing, and innovating circulation modes, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a regular news briefing.

China's used-car market has great potential, Gao said, citing the figure that over 6.9 million used cars were traded in the first five months of the year, up 22.9 percent from the same period of 2019.

Demand for used cars will become one of the main driving forces for the automobile market in China, Gao said.

The ministry will work with relevant departments to improve policies for used-car circulation, continue to unleash the potential of used-car consumption, according to the spokesperson.