Under a pilot project aimed at stimulating rural consumption, farmers in Shandong, Henan and Sichuan provinces will get government subsidies when they buy color television sets, refrigerators, and cell phones.

The government will select qualified enterprises to supply specially tailored home appliances under ceiling prices. And the rural buyers will get back 13 percent of what they pay for such items from local financial departments.

There has been plenty of talk about stimulating rural consumption. This is to date the most practical move to really tap that tantalizing potential.