BEIJING - Beijing launched real-name registration for bicycle buyers on Friday while insisting on its voluntary nature and its aim to help fight the city's rampant bicycle thefts.

The public security bureau of Beijing said citizens can choose to leave their names and other personal information at bike stores, which will hand over the information to be compiled into a police database.

An official with the bureau said the move is meant to address a lack of ownership information, a major problem for police in cracking theft cases and returning stolen bikes.

Bike theft is rampant in Beijing and other Chinese cities, spawning a booming underground market for stolen bikes. Beijing police say they nabbed 2,300 suspects between January and November 2015 in a crackdown on bike theft.