BEIJING - China has issued 4,819 new version permanent residence identity cards to foreigners since the project was launched in June this year, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

Compared with the old cards, the new cards are embedded with chips and can be read by machines, according to the ministry's exit-entry administration bureau.

The new cards are a result of reforms aimed at making the cards recognizable by machines and widely known and accepted in various fields of society, including railways, civil aviation, insurance, hotels, and banks.

According to the ministry, lists of benefits enjoyed by foreigners holding permanent residence cards will be announced later.