China on Sunday extended it rural subsidy scheme for home appliance purchases nationwide in an effort to boost rural consumption, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council announced in the first joint document this year.

The document said the government would provide a 13-percent subsidy to all rural buyers of home appliances, including color TVs, refrigerators, mobile phones, washing machines and freezers.

A trial scheme had been conducted in 12 provinces, which had seen a boost in home appliance sales.

The Commerce Ministry said that in the first 20 days of January, Chinese farmers bought more than 160,000 appliances with government subsidies, 90 percent of the total in December.

More items would be added to the list if necessary, said the document, which called for the expansion of chain stores in rural areas and better delivery and billing systems.

It also encouraged local governments to establish rural service centers to enhance chain store management and strengthen market supervision.

"The biggest potential for boosting domestic demand lies in rural areas; the foundation for securing steady and relative fast economic growth is based upon agriculture; the toughest work of securing and improving people's livelihoods stays with farmers," it said.

China should "especially place priority on tapping the rural market and developing the countryside" to alleviate the effects of the global financial crisis, said Vice Premier Wang Qishan last month.

The document is the sixth of its kind to address rural problems since 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2009)