China has allocated 134.6 billion yuan (about $20.76 billion) in medical service subsidies since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday.

In its latest efforts to promote medical services, the government earmarked 23.5 billion yuan to fund a new rural cooperative medical system and 4.57 billion yuan to support public health programs such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention, according to a statement posted on the MOF's official website.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2011)