Beijing police ran a media event at Wangfujing on Tuesday to highlight a significant change in the security industry that allows foreign firms to get into the market.

The "Security Service Management Regulation", which went into effect on Jan 1, no longer forbids foreign security firms from providing services in China.

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A public security bureau promoted the new policy in front of the Wangfujing Department Store, according to the Beijing Youth Daily yesterday.

"We have talked with many foreign companies so far, but still have to wait for more details from the Ministry of Public Security," He Zhi, deputy director of the security department of the Beijing public security bureau, told the media at the event.

The rule allows for general security services only, such as guarding of the guarding of residential and office complexes.

"Under the new rule, foreign-owned security companies, Sino-foreign joint ventures, and Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises can not work with organizations or institutions related to national security or state secrets," He added.

The hotline for consultation with the bureau is 010-8357-7070.

"Our security service team has more than 30 branches in the capital," the hotline operator said.

"We receive many calls about how enterprises can apply to get certified to provide security services in Beijing. But we have not yet received any details on processing the applications from the Ministry of Public Security," she said.

The regulation was issued by the State Council on October 13, 2009 and took effect on Jan 1, 2010. An officer from the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council said the regulation is crucial to the high-speed development of the security industry.

"There are still many problems such as the fact that many security services are not registered with the police, and most security guards are unprofessional," the officer said.