China's Ministry of Commerce and seven other government bodies have issued a joint action plan to promote spending on smart-home products, according to IThome. The plan, published on September 14, outlines measures ranging from consumer finance incentives to mandatory technical standards, aiming to accelerate the adoption of whole-home intelligence.
The initiative encourages financial institutions to develop diverse consumer credit products for home furnishing and renovation needs. It also calls for the use of personal consumer loan interest subsidy policies to guide lenders toward greater support for smart-home purchases. This is part of a broader effort to boost domestic consumption, which has been a key policy focus for Beijing.
Technical Standards and Infrastructure
A central element of the plan is the improvement of a tiered evaluation system for smart-home products. The ministries will speed up the formulation and implementation of mandatory national standards for smart-home interconnectivity, aiming to push forward integrated whole-home intelligence. The plan also directs basic telecom operators to enable IPv6 by default on home broadband network equipment, raising the IPv6 connectivity rate in households. For newly built fully decorated residences, the plan requires basic smart products to be installed indoors and encourages fiber-to-the-room deployment.
These measures are designed to create a more seamless smart-home ecosystem, where devices from different manufacturers can communicate reliably. The emphasis on IPv6 and fiber infrastructure reflects the government's push to modernize home networks, which are seen as the backbone for connected devices.
Financial Incentives and Trade-In Programs
The plan also aligns with the 2026 consumer goods trade-in policy, allowing local governments to determine subsidy categories and standards for smart-home products. This includes support for purchasing new whole-home smart systems. The goal is to stimulate demand by making smart-home upgrades more affordable for consumers.
In addition, the plan promotes the adoption of elderly-friendly products, such as home service robots, health monitoring devices, and smart care solutions. Companies are encouraged to incorporate elderly-friendly design in product dimensions, ease of operation, dialect recognition, and safety features. The plan also calls for certification of 'silver products' in the elderly-friendly smart-home sector.
To support the circular economy, the plan instructs local governments to set up recycling networks for used home furnishings, integrating them into urban planning and providing land and space support. Home furnishing companies are encouraged to partner with recyclers to offer services like 'deliver new, collect old' and 'internet plus recycling', as well as mobile recycling models using vehicles.
The action plan also emphasizes the establishment of comprehensive service stations in qualified neighborhoods and communities, integrating repair, storage, and replacement services, and creating whole-home smart experience spaces. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to develop the digital home industry chain and foster innovation in smart-home products based on domestic open-source operating systems.
