Ambassador Lan (second from left) with Minister Siti Fadilah Supari at the hand-over ceremony

"The donation is part of our government's commitment to the Indonesian government in performing humanitarian assistance," Lan Lijun, China's ambassador to Indonesia, told reporters at the Health Ministry.

The aid -- to be distributed to Aceh and North Sumatra's Nias Island through the World Health Organization -- is in the form of medical equipment, including 15 ambulances, 10 cooling containers for blood preservation and 10 operating suits, as well as X-ray, ultrasonography and electrocardiogram units.

According to the ministry's Crisis Mitigation Center head, Rustam S. Pakaya, some of the aid has already been distributed to Aceh and Nias.

"Of the 15 ambulances, we have sent two to Aceh and two others to Nias," he said. "We have also transported X-ray units to Aceh and Nias."

The Health Ministry invited officials from the two areas to discuss which equipment would be needed prior to the transportation of the items, he said.

A ambulance donated by Chinese Government

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said the grant would be prioritized for impoverished people in the two areas.

"For instance, we will utilize the ambulances for a mobile clinic for poor people living in villages," she said. "They will find this useful."

Earlier, the Chinese government pledged to donate more than $50 million's worth of assistance for post-tsunami relief here, of which approximately half would come directly from the Chinese government, while the rest will be collected from China's private companies, non-governmental organizations and civil institutions, embassy spokesman Xie Yonghui told The Jakarta Post.

Both Aceh and Nias suffered more than 120,500 fatalities after a devastating tsunami in December 2004 and another 500 deaths when an earthquake shook Nias in March 2005.