Apple's iPhone 4 approved for sale in China

Apple’s iPhone 4 seems set to hit the insanely populous Chinese market as the device has won key approval from government agencies there.

The company has won a China network license for the iPhone 4 from China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center. That’s broadly in line with statements from Apple’s Chinese iPhone carrier, China Unicom, which has previously said it expects to offer the iPhone in China later this year.

China Unicom spokesman Wen Baoqiu and Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu, both based in Beijing, declined to comment when approached by Dow Jones.

This will potentially be a very big deal for Apple’s adventures in China. The company intends opening Apple retail stores all across the country.

Don’t neglect that there are as many people using mobile phones in China as their are humans across the entirety of the USA and Europe. This means Apple could generate strong success in this market.

UPDATE: A later report tells us that while the WiFi will work on the iPhone 4, don’t expect YouTube. That’s because that Google service is blocked in CHina.