The Chinese government will increase subsidies to low-income urban and rural families amid rising prices, said Wang Zhikun, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), on Tuesday.

The official said that the MCA and the Ministry of Finance would monitor the price situation and work out new policies in a timely manner. Some new policies were likely to be publicized before the Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 7.

In 2007, China's consumer price index went up by 4.8 percent, 3.3 percent higher than the previous year, according to official figures.

At the same time, central and local governments distributed 5.1 billion yuan (about US$698 million) in subsidies to low-income families.

Last year, the central government allocated 3 billion yuan to help local governments establish rural low-income insurance systems.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2008)