BEIJING, Jan. 12 -- China delivered subsidies worth 6.5 billion yuan (about 960.4 million U.S. dollars) in 2022 to people in distress to help cushion the impact of price increases, the country's top economic planner said on Thursday.

The country has established a price subsidy mechanism to offer financial aid to vulnerable communities in case of price hikes.

In 2022, China adjusted the mechanism, expanding the beneficiaries of the policy and lowering its triggering threshold from September 2022 to March 2023.

Some 200 million pieces of subsidies were issued last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Since 2020, China has issued 730 million pieces of subsidies, totaling about 37.5 billion yuan.

Official data showed Thursday that China's Consumer Price Index, a major gauge of inflation, rose 2 percent year on year in 2022, well within its annual target range of around 3 percent.