Beijing bans motorcycle escorts

China says escorts are blocking traffic

China is to stop providing visiting foreign leaders with motorcycle escorts from 1 January, according to state-run media reports.

The China Daily newspaper said officials were ending the practice to minimise traffic congestion.

"China has nearly 40 state guests every year and the arrangement of motorcycle escorts disrupted the lives of ordinary people," the newspaper quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.

He said that the escorts were not necessary for security, but a matter of protocol, which most other countries had already abandoned.

At the moment foreign dignitaries are given motorcycle escorts for their arrival and departure, as well as visits to the Monument to the People's Heroes.

Roads and intersections are closed to accommodate the escorts, causing significant disruption to traffic.

There are now more than two million cars in Beijing, and it is estimated there will be 3.5 million by 2008.

Traffic congestion has become a source of irritation for those living in the Chinese capital.