Eight government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, have jointly released an action plan aimed at stimulating consumption within the smart home sector. The initiative, announced on September 14th, seeks to increase the availability of high-quality smart home products while simultaneously enhancing financial support mechanisms to encourage consumer adoption.
A key focus of the plan is expanding the supply of premium smart home offerings. The government intends to encourage manufacturers to intensify research and development by integrating these efforts with the cultivation of digital home industry chains. To support this, household product malls and shopping centers will be incentivized to establish dedicated smart home experience centers, complete with whole-home intelligent systems and digital dwelling showrooms.
The strategy also involves fostering the growth of reputable, large-scale home renovation enterprises and platforms known for their standardized services. These businesses will be encouraged to offer personalized and diverse renovation packages, with a strong emphasis on expanding custom, order-based, and appointment-based service models. Furthermore, there is a push to develop a suite of smart home software and hardware products and integrated solutions built upon domestically sourced open-source operating systems.
Regarding consumer incentives, the plan aligns with the 2026 consumer goods trade-in policy. It empowers local governments to autonomously determine suitable subsidy categories and standards for smart home products, with the aim of comprehensively supporting the purchase of new whole-home intelligent systems.
Financial and fiscal backing is a critical component of the new initiative. Financial institutions are being encouraged to create a diverse range of consumer finance products and services tailored to home improvement and furnishing needs. The plan calls for the effective use of fiscal subsidy policies for personal consumption loans, guiding financial entities to increase credit support specifically for smart home purchases and assist consumers in financing these products.
Beyond the immediate sales push, the plan outlines a comprehensive approach to industry development. This includes establishing a complete evaluation system for the intelligence grading of smart home products and accelerating the implementation of mandatory national standards for device interoperability. In the realm of infrastructure, it directs telecom operators to enable IPv6 support on home broadband equipment by default and encourages fiber-optic installation to individual rooms in newly decorated residences.
The action plan also places significant emphasis on age-friendly and sustainable solutions. To serve the elderly demographic, it promotes the adoption of products like home service robots, health monitoring devices, and intelligent care systems, urging companies to incorporate age-friendly designs regarding size, ease of use, and safety features. Concurrently, efforts will be made to streamline the recycling chain by guiding regions to establish more efficient waste collection networks, encouraging partnerships between home furnishing companies and recyclers to offer combined delivery-and-pickup services, and promoting mobile recycling models.
The final pillar of the strategy focuses on community-level support. Using ongoing efforts to build 15-minute convenience living circles, leading enterprises will be leveraged to set up comprehensive home renewal service stations in eligible neighborhoods. These stations will integrate various services, including repairs, maintenance, storage, and trade-in programs, while also serving as experiential spaces for whole-home smart technology.