CHINESE authorities are offering financial incentives to encourage consumers to replace their old home appliances with new ones, according to a recent circular released by the Ministry of Commerce and three other government departments. Eight categories of home appliances with high energy efficiency, including refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners and computers, can enjoy trade-in subsidies. The subsidies will be 15% of the final sale prices of the products. Each individual consumer can receive subsidies for one item in one category and the subsidies for each item cannot exceed 2,000 yuan (US$280.28), the circular stated. All local governments should coordinate the use of central and local funds to provide subsidies to individual consumers who buy these eight categories of home appliances with high energy efficiency, according to the circular. The consumer goods trade-in program is part of China’s efforts to boost domestic demand and support economic growth. China’s State Council released an action plan in March to initiate large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods — nearly 15 years since the last such round of renewals. At the end of 2023, people in China owned some 336 million civilian automobiles and over 3 billion major household appliances. It is estimated the upgrading drive will create market demand worth more than 1 trillion yuan. (Xinhua) | 