CHINESE government is considering lifting the benchmark poverty line from the current 1,067 yuan (US$152) to 1,300 yuan, 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 US$1 per day in China, which would for the first time make the level of China?ˉs poverty in line with the international standard.

Once the new criteria is adopted, China?ˉs impoverished population will double to 80 million, according to experts.

China has measured the poverty standard in line with changes in 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 and less per year.

(Xinhua)