Entering foreigners to be fingerprinted

China will start to collect fingerprints and capture facial images of foreign passport holders entering China at selected ports beginning on Friday to tighten border security, a source in the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport will be among those using the new policy before it is rolled out in other areas.

Border control authorities nationwide will fingerprint all foreign passport holders ages 14 to 70 by the end of the year. In addition to fingerprints, biometric data will also be collected, said the ministry source, who requested anonymity.