Sources from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Chinese families own 130 million refrigerators and 170 million sets of washing machines. Those appliances were mainly bought in late 1980s and 1990s. In line with industrial standards, most of them have expired and need to be replaced.

According to NBS, home appliance consumption in China rose 12 percent year over year in May, compared with 0.6 percent year-on-year growth in April. "The increase is expected to be higher in June," said a report of the bureau.

Though all the above seemed to be favorable news to home appliances manufacturers and retailers, some producers, analysts and consumers said more detailed provisions should be formulated and they are not too sure about the implementation of these subsidy policies.

Pan Zhifeng, general manager of electric appliance company Skyworth Beijing, said the government has to clearly identify the terms of tradable old appliances. "If a product has been used for over 10 years, I don't think the owner should get the subsidy, as the ordinary life period of a home appliance is six to eight years," he said.

How to set the subsidy cap is also a problem without detailed regulations, said Galaxy's Zhu. "If the cap is too low, the demand stimulus might be weak; if it is too high, high-end products may not be attractive to consumers," he said.

"I am really concerned whether the price tagged is true," said Jiang Wen, 32, who planned to buy a refrigerator this year. "Some companies may label a higher original price and hence the preferential price is meaningless, so governmental or industrial supervision is needed to protect consumers' rights."

(China Daily July 8, 2009)