BEIJING — China has announced that it is increasing its humanitarian assistance to typhoon victims in the Philippines, after international groups and a Chinese newspaper criticized an initial government donation of $100,000 as too meager.

The state news agency, Xinhua, said China would provide $1.4 million in relief supplies, including tents and blankets, on top of $100,000 in cash from the government and another $100,000 from the Chinese Red Cross offered earlier this week.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said Thursday that China had never intended that the amount of assistance will “never change,” and had adjusted its contribution according to the needs. “An overwhelming majority of Chinese people are sympathetic with the people of the Philippines,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr. Qin had remained firm on China’s first offer and said that one consideration in China’s initial announcement was that Chinese people had also suffered during Typhoon Haiyan. Chinese state media reported that eight people died in China when the tail end of the storm hit southern China.