When Zhe, a national-level kung fu coach and former government security agent, started his company eight years ago, aiming to serve a high-end, wealthy clientele, he recalls there were few if any competitors in the game. By the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security, the private security business had grown into a $1.2 billion industry with about 2,767 companies employing more than two million security guards.
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Wow, I had no idea it was this big? And what is really interesting about this, is how this will translate into China’s presence throughout the world? If the rich in China are reaching out to the close protection industry, then I would imagine that some of this relationship would spill overseas into some of the places overseas. Especially in the war zones or in countries that China’s executives and businessmen might have some concerns in.
I have to think that out of those 2,767 companies providing over two million security guards, that there are a few who have interests in overseas work. I wouldn’t be surprised that a few of them might even consider themselves a PMC and are seeking to enter into this area of contracting in order to support China’s policy goals throughout the world. That’s if they have been watching how the US uses companies.
Finally, it looks like they are going through a period of regulation concerns over how their industry is monitored and kept in check. Nothing new there, and this is a problem world wide. Some countries do better than others. Still, there will always be issues and especially when governments are involved with the process. lol –Matt
As China’s wealthy grow in numbers, so do their protectors
Bodyguard services are big hit
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As China’s wealthy grow in numbers, so do their protectors
By Keith B. RichburgSunday, September 19, 2010
BEIJING – Perhaps the most visible sign of the explosion of private wealth in China tries hard not to be visible at all – the private bodyguard.
They work as drivers or nannies, or blend into a businessman’s coterie looking like a secretary, a briefcase carrier or a toady. Unlike bodyguards in the United States, they are generally not tall and imposing; in fact, many are women, on the theory that females in the retinue attract less attention.
And also unlike in the United States, they are never armed, since private citizens in China are largely prohibited from owning firearms. Rather, Chinese bodyguards are martial arts experts, trained to disarm or subdue an attacker with a few quick thrusts, jabs and hand chops.
“In China, we don’t need people who know guns,” said Michael Zhe, president of Beijing VSS Security Consulting Ltd, which started in 2002 and counts itself as the country’s oldest private security firm. “Bodyguards can use one or two blows to stop an attacker.”