The State Council: China Unveils Stimulus Package for Light Industry, Petrochem

    The country will lift processing trade restrictions on some labor-intensive, technology-intensive, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly products, according to an executive meeting of the State Council on Thursday.

    The government would further raise export rebates of some light industrial products, and extend fiscal and credit support to small and medium-sized firms within the sector.

    It was decided at the meeting, two more products -- microwave ovens and induction cookers -- will be added to the list of home appliances that come with a government subsidy for rural buyers.

    The government will act to expand urban and rural consumption and to increase supply of light industrial products on the domestic market, and at the same time, efforts will be made to improve foreign trade services and maintain export volume.

    Technological upgrades within the industry was stressed, with focuses on independent development of equipment and industrialization of key technologies. Technological upgrades in the fields of paper making, home appliance and plastic sectors will be sped up.

    Attendees to the meeting, which was chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, also agreed that the food processing sector should be straightened out to ensure food safety in the country.

    There would be higher standards for creation of new firms in the food processing sector, better recall systems for products and withdrawal mechanism for firms. There would also be more severe punishment for making and selling fake and substandard products.

    The light industry firms were urged to step up efforts in developing their own brands and improving the quality of products.

    Meanwhile, the Chinese government would strive to boost demand for petrochemical products in order to maintain the stable development of the sector.

    Measures would also be taken to guarantee the supply of farming materials, such as fertilizers, and to push forward technological innovation and construction of major petrochemical projects.

    It was decided at the meeting to give more policy support to the petrochemical sector, such as accelerating the building of finished oil product reserves, better tax policies and more credit access for firms.

    The government will not approve coal chemical projects, such as coke and calcium carbide, that are merely meant to increase production capacities. It's an effort to control the overall capacity of the sector.

    China said it would unveil support plans for 10 industries to stimulate the economy. So far, similar plans for six sectors - auto, steel, shipbuilding, textile, machinery-manufacturing, electronics and information industries- have been made public.