The supplies were handed over in Shanghai to the People's Liberation Army, which forwarded them for distribution to parts of the country's hard-hit eastern and central regions, Xinhua said.

Maj-Gen Qian Lihua, head of foreign affairs for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said the transfer would 'promote the friendship between the two peoples and the two armed forces'.

'The Chinese armed forces will continue to strengthen substantial cooperation with the US side in humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief, and advance the sound and steady development of military relations between the two sides,' Maj-gen Qian was quoted as saying.

The US military has promoted such exchanges to build confidence between their armed forces, seen by some as potential regional rivals.

It also follows a period of tension over China's refusal to allow port calls by US Navy ships in Hong Kong in November, apparently due to Chinese anger over Washington's arms sales to Taiwan and a decision by the US Congress to grant its highest civilian award to Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The US aid worth US$820,000 (S$1.16 billion) included 6,000 winter coats, 1,657 blankets and 87,552 ration packets, Xinhua said.

In a brief notice on its Web site, US Pacific Command said it coordinated the delivery of aid supplies, which were flown into Shanghai's international airport aboard a US Air Force C-17 cargo plane from Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

Photos on the Web site showed the US air crew unloading supplies and exchanging salutes with Maj-Gen Qian, who presented the plane's captain with a traditional souvenir for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which officially began Thursday.

Almost four weeks of severe snow and ice storms beginning Jan. 10 killed more than 80 people, leveled 300,000 homes and laid waste to 90 million hectares of crops.

The storms paralysed key transport systems just as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Electrical workers scrambled to repair downed power lines as forecasters warned that new storms could lash the area in the coming week.

Officials have boosted shipments of potatoes, onions, turnips and other food stocks to prevent potentially inflationary shortages.

The storms exacerbated already high inflation driven by rising food prices and shortages of coal, which fuels most of China's economy.

The government estimated direct economic losses from the storms at 53.8 billion yuan (S$10.63 billion). -- AP