TOKYO – Sony’s and Panasonic’s ambitions for higher earnings this year depend on convincing Yin Weiguang, a retired construction worker in Beijing, that he chose the wrong television.

“I don’t really care about fancy features,” said Yin, 55, who paid $413 for a 32-inch set made by Skyworth Digital Holdings. “I just use it for basic entertainment: watching news, weather forecast and TV series.”

Sony and Panasonic, the world’s two largest makers of consumer electronics, are slashing some TV prices by a third in China after being outsold six-to-one by Shenzhen-based Skyworth. Sony aims to double TV shipments in China this fiscal year, and Panasonic expects 50 percent growth in the world’s second-largest market for flat-panel TVs.

“The price battle in China will likely intensify as local manufacturers, South Korean makers and Japanese companies all fight for market share,” said Yoji Takeda, who heads the Asian equity management team at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd., which oversees $1.1 billion. “Prices will probably continue falling with increased market supply during the second half.”

In December, Sony offered a 32-inch set for $443, or 33 percent off the previous price for that size, targeting customers in regional cities and rural districts, said Yuki Shima, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based company. To help cut costs, Sony has increased outsourcing of TV production to Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics.

Panasonic, the world’s biggest maker of plasma TVs, may cut prices of some models in China as much as 50 percent this year, Hitoshi Otsuki, senior managing director of the Osaka-based company’s overseas operations, said in an interview this month.

Sales of liquid-crystal-display TVs in China will rise 15 percent to 45.5 million next year and overtake North America shipments, according to DisplaySearch estimates.

China will become the biggest flat-panel TV market, including plasma sets, in 2012, the researcher said.