China Unicom (0762.HK; CHU.NYSE), the second largest mobile telecom operator by user base in China, is expected to be the first carrier in the Chinese mainland to sell the iPhone 4S, reported tech.ifeng.com, citing a report by BOCOM International.

The company has already reached agreement with Apple to introduce the next generation of iPhone, and the iPhone 4S is scheduled to be available on the Chinese market by the end of this year.

One of the most popular electronics products worldwide, iPhone sales started in China in 2009 through China Unicom. Currently, China Unicom is still the only telecom carrier offering iPhones on the Chinese mainland.

However, China Unicom's peer competitors, China Mobile (CHL.NYSE; 00941.HK) and China Telecom (CHA.NYSE; 00728.HK) have both been actively working to sell the iPhone on their own networks.