Foreign operators ready to ride China's 3G wave

With the restructuring of China's telecom industry gearing up, foreign operators are pulling out all stops to seal local partnerships and position themselves for the 3G (third generation) era of the world's largest telecom market.

"China's telecom restructuring gives us an opportunity to bring our mobile business to the country, as our domestic partners can get access to the wireless market after the restructuring," said Wang Chao, vice-president of Orange Business Service (OBS), a business service subsidiary under France Telecom.

"After the restructuring, we hope to enter China's domestic service market by establishing strategic joint ventures with Chinese companies."