Chinese government is mulling to lift the benchmark poverty line from the current 1,067 yuan (US$152) to 1,300 yuan (US$185), according to a notice issued by the Poverty Alleviation Office under the State Council over the weekend.

In the notice, the office solicited opinions and suggestions from 26 of its subsidiaries nationwide on the plan.

The per-capita annual income of 1,300 yuan allows a real purchasing power of one US dollar per day in China, which would for the first time make the level of China's poverty in line with the international standard.

Once the new criteria adopted, China's impoverished population would be doubled to 80 million, according to experts.

China has measured the poverty standard in line with changes of per-capita income. The low-income level was 1,067 yuan a year in 2007 and that for abject poverty was pinned at 785 yuan (112 US dollars) and less per year.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2008)