China may raise poverty line

A possible proposal to raise the income line - below which a person is considered to be living in poverty - will be discussed by the state council, or cabinet, by the end of the year, a spokesperson from the Poverty Alleviation and Development Bureau told the China Daily.

The proposal would increase China's poverty threshold from 1 067 yuan ($152) a year to 1 300 yuan ($186), following a decision by the World Bank to raise its poverty line from $1 to $1.25 a day, the state-run paper reported.

The change would double to 80 million the number of people considered to be living in poverty, the newspaper said. Tens of millions more live in near-poverty conditions.

Those under the poverty threshold would be eligible for more allowances for housing and preferential treatment when seeking jobs or health care.

While China's rapid economic development in the last few decades has lifted several hundred million people out of poverty, others have been left behind amid growing income gaps that have produced simmering discontent in China's rural areas.

There have been protests and sometimes violent clashes in disputes over labour, pollution and other issues. leading to calls for more government support in the countryside.

The China Daily reported last week that the gap between China's richest and poorest citizens had reached its highest rate since China launched its economic reforms 30 years ago, with an urban per capita income averaging more than three times that of rural areas.

Top government leaders have said the gap is approaching dangerous levels and could lead to social unrest.