An Apple store in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: IC

US tech giant Apple announced on Tuesday that designated products will be included in a government subsidy program in China, with a maximum savings of 2,000 yuan ($278). The subsidized items include Apple's smart watches, smartphones, tablets, and computer monitors.

The products are available through its online stores for delivery to Beijing addresses and at retail stores in Shanghai, according to its Chinese-language website.

This is the first time that Apple's direct sales channels join China's subsidy scheme for boosting consumption, as the products covered by the country's subsidies have expanded from home appliances to 3C digital products such as mobile phones in 2025. 

Apple's move is symbolically significant, showing that the government subsidy program treats domestic and foreign brands equally, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

He added that the fierce market competition in China could also be a factor behind the move.

Data showed that in the first quarter of 2025, Apple's share of the Chinese smartphone market fell 10 percent year-on-year to 13.7 percent, and was overtaken by Huawei. During the same period, brands such as Xiaomi and OPPO doubled their sales, reported news portal jiemian.com on Tuesday. 

According to the latest report from research firm IDC, the total shipments of China's PC (personal computer) monitor market in the first quarter of 2025 reached 7.07 million units, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent. Driven by the subsidy program policy, the consumer market shipments reached 3.43 million units, a year-on-year increase of 17.4 percent.

Previously, Apple's official channels did not participate in the subsidy program, prompting some users to turn to third-party platforms. Since the beginning of this year, Apple's mobile phones and other products have begun to participate in the subsidy scheme through dealers, e-commerce platforms and other channels, reported the yicai.com on Tuesday. 

The Ministry of Commerce said in January that it treats domestic and foreign-funded enterprises equally and supports those that meet the criteria to participate in the current digital product subsidy policy.

Under the plan, individual consumers purchasing smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or wristbands priced below 6,000 yuan per item will receive a subsidy covering 15 percent of the product's sales price, according to the plan. 

China has reaffirmed its commitment to the national consumer goods trade-in program, guaranteeing continued financial support to maintain government subsidies through 2025. 

The initiative, a cornerstone of the country's strategy to boost domestic demand, incentivizes households to upgrade older products—including home appliances and vehicles — to newer, more energy-efficient models.

To bolster the program's implementation, the central government has allocated 300 billion yuan in treasury bonds to provincial governments — double the amount provided in 2024. An initial 162 billion yuan was distributed in two installments (January and April) to fund first-half operations, with additional tranches scheduled for July and October to cover the latter half of the year.

Global Times