China's top lawmakers are considering granting police powers to make more frequent citizen ID checks, state media said on Wednesday, sparking criticism from rights lawyers.

A draft legal amendment being debated this week would allow police to check people's identity documents at train stations, airports and major events, the Global Times daily said.

Under current law, police may only check a Chinese citizen's identity card in an emergency or if the person is suspected of a crime.

Public Security Vice Minister Yang Huanning said the proposal being considered this week by the National People's Congress Standing Committee was designed to maintain public security in today's "complicated environment".

But some Chinese lawyers said the amendment, if passed, would give police too much power and violate individual rights.

"The (proposed) change to resident identity cards law is really a rollback to the rule of law," said Li Jinsong, who was previously detained by police for his work with renowned Chinese rights activist Hu Jia.

"In some places, police and local governments work together to harass people," Beijing-based human rights lawyer Li Fangping told AFP. "The amendment could make the law more unfair."

The draft amendment also would see fingerprints added to next-generation ID cards in an effort to make them harder to forge.

The meeting of the Standing Committee ends on Saturday. The group of leading Communist Party legislators has the power to pass amendments on their own, while the broader National People's Congress is not in session.