China's Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce jointly announced on March 5 the list of 14 PC manufacturers admitted to China's rural PC subsidy program, according to a Sina news report. Of the 14 manufacturers, with the exception of Dell, HP, and Taiwan's Acer, all are Chinese companies: including Lenovo, TCL, Manjiang, Founder, Haier, Inspur, Malata, Hasee, Tsinghua Tongfang, Southwest Computer Sanshan Tianjiao, and Great Wall. 21 manufacturers took part in the tender, and Taiwan's Asus and BenQ are among the seven manufacturers that did not make the final cut.

The 14 manufacturers are expected to provide 183 models for the rural subsidy program. As per the regulations of the program, the prices of desktop PCs should not exceed 3,500 RMB (US$511.46; US$1=6.84 RMB) and those of notebook PCs 4,500 RMB (US$657.63). The Chinese government floated the subsidy program on February 1 this year, expecting to stimulate the purchase of home appliances and PCs in the rural regions throughout the country.