China bets on kitchen appliances to boost economy

The Chinese government has expanded a list of products that people can trade in to get a discount of as much as 20% on recent goods as the country tries to boost its flagging economy.

The list now includes items like microwave ovens, dishwashers, rice cookers and water purifiers.

State-backed trade-in schemes already covered televisions, phones, tablets and intelligent watches as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.

The globe’s second largest economy has been facing several challenges, including frail buyer demand and a deepening property crisis.

On Wednesday, officials said 81 billion yuan (£8.9bn; $11bn) had been earmarked this year for the buyer goods trade-in scheme.

China’s top economic planning body has said the schemes, which were launched in March, have already produced “visible effects”.

According to the country’s Ministry of Commerce, the policies have boosted sales of large ticket items such as home appliances and cars.

But some economists have questioned whether the schemes will be enough to significantly boost buyer demand.

China-based economist Dan Wang said “the assess is far from being enough to boost consumption.”

“While it has supported sales of some listed goods, such as cars and appliances, it hasn’t driven an overall uptick in spending,” said Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China economics at Moody’s Analytics.

In recent months, China has been pushing ahead with more measures to back its domestic economy as the country’s exporters face growing challenges.

In December, a key conference of China’s leaders stressed the require for “vigorous” efforts to boost buyer spending.

That came as President-elect Donald Trump, who is due to profitability to the White House this month, threatened to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese-made products.

China is due to announce its 2024 financial expansion figures next week, which Beijing has said it expects will be around 5%.