BEIJING — The number of registered volunteers in China had reached 209 million by the end of 2020, a senior Chinese official said on Sept 17.

A total of 9,480 charity organizations had been registered across the country by the end of last year, Wang Aiwen, vice-minister of civil affairs, told a press conference.

"In recent years, China's charity organizations spent 50 billion yuan ($7.75 billion) each year to help the poor in need," Wang said.

Charity organizations, enterprises and individuals donated over 39.6 billion yuan to support the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in China in 2020, the official added.

The civil affairs ministry will improve supportive measures, such as preferential tax policies, and expand online channels to further leverage the role of charity service to promote common prosperity, Wang said.

He also vowed to strengthen regulations on philanthropic organizations to ensure the transparent and effective use of charity funds.