China will give 350 million yuan (US$52.4 million) in subsidies to poor people in central and western China affected by rising prices, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Wednesday.

Each of over 4.6 million childless and infirm rural seniors guaranteed food, clothing, housing, medical care and burial expenses will receive a monthly subsidy of no less than 20 yuan, the MOF said in a circular on its website. The move aims to reduce economic pressures on needy people.

The subsidy will last until March 2011.

The government has adopted various measures since mid-November to boost agricultural production to combat the effects of inflation.

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.4 percent in the 12 months through October, a 25-month high.

(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2010)