The number of people in China defined as poor would at least triple if not for the country's decades-old poverty line, a top agriculture expert said.

"The poverty line in China has not been changed for 20 years in step with the pace of economic development," said Li Xiaoyun, dean of the Center of Integrated Agricultural Development of China Agricultural University.

China's poverty line of 1,196 yuan ($175) per capita net income a year is said to be too low compared with the country's economic development and living standard.