China's Xinjiang offers subsidies on home appliances to boost consumption

URUMQI -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has provided residents with consumer subsidies worth more than 60 million yuan (about $8.46 million) to spur sales of household appliances, local authorities said.

Apart from consumer subsidies, 30 million yuan worth of trade-in subsidies for home appliances and 20 million yuan subsidies for household appliances sold in rural areas were allocated for this month, according to the regional department of commerce.

The financial aid sponsored by the regional government is also funded by the Xinjiang branch of Chinese retail giant Suning Holdings Group.

"We will focus on subsidizing home appliance sales in rural areas of southern Xinjiang," said Han Lei, general manager of Suning's Xinjiang branch, adding that the company will offer subsidies for air conditioners, TVs, kitchen appliances, small household appliances, mobile phones and other commodities. The average subsidy for each item is 8-10 percent of the original price.

Meanwhile, Xinjiang has set the fourth quarter of this year as its consumption promotion season. Subsidies will be granted to sectors including catering, automobile and home appliances among others, according to the regional department of commerce.