Will Apple tie up with China Mobile to drive iPhone sales?

Will Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) develop an iPhone that can run on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA 3G standard, a move that could boost the sales of iPhone in China?

There is no word as yet from Apple on this, but the chairman of China Mobile said on Friday Apple's Steve Jobs has expressed interest in developing an iPhone for China Mobile's network, Reuters has reported.

Jobs has said he's very interested in developing an iPhone that will run on TD, China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said.

Right now, iPhones are available in China exclusively through China Unicom, a factor that has affected iPhone sales in the country. Reuters points out that China Unicom's smaller subscriber and the fact that number portability is not allowed in the country have dented iPhone sales in China.

In the numbers game, Apple will stand to gain significantly if it has a tie-up with China Mobile, which is the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers.

China Mobile has around 590 million subscribers, and would offer huge business potential to Apple if it develops an iPhone to run on its network. However, Apple's strategy is not clear as yet. Reuters said Apple officials were not immediately available to respond to Wang's comment.

China Mobile, which is working on the adoption of a 4G standard, has been on the lookout for handset makers to craft a smartphone that can run on its TD system.