BEIJING - China has set aside 69.6 billion yuan ($11 billion) from the central budget to pay for subsistence allowances to be given to needy rural and urban families next year, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

Of the fiscal spending, 35.1 billion yuan will be used for urban allowances, while the rest will be distributed in rural areas, according to a statement from the ministry.

The central government has earmarked 87.5 billion yuan for minimum living allowances since the start of the year, with 44.36 billion yuan given to urban poor families, according to the statement.

China established the subsistence allowance system in the late 1990s. The allowances are given to those whose per capita household incomes fall below the local minimum subsistence level.

Last year, the average monthly urban subsistence level was 287.6 yuan per person, up 14.5 percent year on year. The figure for rural areas was 143.2 yuan per person, up 22.4 percent.