China's Output of Electric Appliances up

BEIJING, August 9 (Xinhua) -- The production of household electric appliances grew steadily in the first five months this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The output of color TV sets from January to May hit 16.5 million units, soaring a year-on-year 31.5 percent, and that of household refrigerators went up 12.3 percent to 4.8 million units.

The latest figures from the bureau show that the country produced 6.5 million air conditioners during the period, jumping up 56.4 percent on an annual basis.

In the meantime, the output of washing machines edged up 1.6 percent to 5.4 million units.

China has taken measures to stimulate domestic demand in a bid to minimize the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Its anti- smuggling drive has also promoted sales of China-made household electric appliances, according to market sources.

There is also a great potential in the vast rural market where 80 percent of China's 1.2 billion people live, they said.