China to promote consumption of green, smart home appliances

BEIJING -- China will issue a guideline to promote the consumption of green and smart home appliances, as part of efforts to stabilize growth and expand employment, a commerce ministry official said on Friday.

The guideline, jointly proposed by the Ministry of Commerce and other government departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation, has been approved by the State Council and will be released in the near future, according to Vice-Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping.

Measures will be taken to promote sales of green and smart home appliances in rural areas, Sheng said, and enterprises will be encouraged to develop products that are localized to the rural market and that satisfy the demand of senior citizens.

The country will also propel new infrastructure such as 5G services networks and gigabit fiber-optic networks, providing a solid foundation for the use of smart home appliances, said He Yaqiong, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Efforts will also be made to improve post-sales services and recycling facilities for home appliances, and to create a reliable consumption environment, said Liu Decheng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.