BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- China channeled 350 million yuan (50.87 million U.S. dollars) from its central budget for disaster relief after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The money, allocated by the ministries of finance and emergency management, will be used to aid disaster relief and reconstruction of damaged houses in the quake-hit Changning County, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on its website Tuesday.

The earthquake hit Changning County in the city of Yibin on June 17, killing 13 people.