China Unicom has reportedly decided to start selling the iPhone 4S, Apple's latest smartphone, from January 6, 2012.

China Unicom has maintained a partnership with Apple for two years, during which time the Chinese telecom operator was the exclusive contracted operator for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.

The operator has recently been preparing for the launch of iPhone 4S. In November 2011, Yu Yingshou, general manager for the sales department of China Unicom, revealed to local media that they were fully prepared and were only waiting for a license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China.

On December 6, 2011, the license was issued to iPhone 4S with the network license number of 02-8573-116856. On December 21, 2011, iPhone 4S passed the 3C certification of China.

At present, China Unicom's provincial branches are making the final preparation for the sales of iPhone 4S and its employees are apparently undergoing related training. The products will reportedly expected to be available in China Unicom's various business halls by January 6.