China eyes energy-saving products for clean economy

BEIJING - The Chinese government is targeting energy-efficient products as part of efforts to build a cleaner and more sustainable economy.

The Ministry of Finance announced Thursday that over 9 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) has been earmarked from the country's central budget in 2012 to promote energy-saving products ranging from home appliances to hybrid vehicles.

In a breakdown, the special fund has boosted sales of 33 million units of energy-saving home appliances, 1.24 million fuel-efficient cars and 160 million illuminating devices, as well as high efficiency electric motors with a combined power capacity of 9.5 million kilowatts (kW).

The fund has also boosted consumption by 250 billion yuan, while 24 billion kWh of electric power and 850,000 tons of oil were saved, the data showed.

The central government started to pay subsidies for energy-saving home appliances in June 1, 2012. Buyers of such appliances can receive 70 to 600 yuan for each purchase.

The government stressed the significance of energy conservation in its energy white paper released on October 24, 2012. It vowed to set up energy-saving production and consumption systems and accelerate the construction of an energy-saving society.

By the end of 2015, China will lower its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent from 2010 and lower its carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP by 17 percent, according to the country's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).