China resumes motorcycle escorts for foreign leaders

Photo taken on Oct 21, 2014 shows motorcycles escorting the motorcade of Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete in Beijing, capital of China. China on Tuesday resumed motorcycle escorts for visiting foreign leaders. The protocol had been conducted since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, but stopped on Jan. 1, 2004. [Photo./Xinhua]

BEIJING - China on Tuesday resumed motorcycle escorts for visiting foreign leaders, including them in the motorcade of Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete as he travelled from the airport to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in central Beijing.

According to a press release from Chinese Foreign Ministry, motorcycle escort is a top protocol arrangement and a security measure for a foreign head of state or head of government.

It is a normal practice for many countries, it said.

China had conducted motorcycle escorts since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, but stopped the practice on Jan. 1, 2004.