China reports home appliance sales surge under trade-in program

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's ongoing trade-in program for home appliances has led to a surge in sales revenues which topped 69.09 billion yuan (9.7 billion U.S. dollars) since August, the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Wednesday.

As of Oct. 15, around 10.13 million consumers have benefited from the program for which the central government has provided more than 13.17 billion yuan in subsidies for consumers, the MOC said.

MOC data showed that green and smart home appliances are favored by consumers, with products labeled with top-level energy efficiency accounting for more than 90 percent of the sales revenues during the period.

Regions such as Hubei Province, Chongqing and Shanghai municipalities, and the city of Shenzhen have expanded the categories of home appliances eligible for subsidies according to local conditions, incorporating green and intelligent products such as sweeping robots, dishwashers, air purifiers, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the ministry said.

In the next step, the ministry will continue to encourage various regions to speed up the implementation of subsidy policies and guide home appliance manufacturers as well as distribution companies to seize the consumption boom periods such as the Double Eleven online shopping festival to boost consumption under the trade-in program, it said.

The Double Eleven online shopping festival, also known as the Singles' Day shopping festival, is a Chinese version of Black Friday when discounts and sales promotions are usually offered for consumers in the month of November.

In a significant push to stimulate consumer spending, China has rolled out an expansive trade-in policy across multiple sectors since August.