Apple may be close to securing a deal with China Mobile

Apple has deals with two of China's three carriers – China Unicom (China's second biggest carrier, deal signed in 2009) and Chine Telecom (third biggest, deal signed last year). But the Cupertino giant is yet to enter partnership with the biggest carrier in China and in fact the world, Chine Mobile (with 740 million subscribers).

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, has traveled a second time this year to China and met with Xi Guohua, the carrier's chairman. "We are actively negotiating and both sides are keen. There are still some commercial and technology issues that need time to resolve," said the chairman.

What's changed from previous years is Apple's move to Qualcomm-made chipsets, which support China's proprietary 4G tech that most other chipsets don't. With these chipsets, Apple won't have to spend time and resources designing a China-specific version of the iPhone (which the company has been reluctant to do).

Apple really needs that deal – China is the world's biggest smartphone market but the iPhone has been struggling there - its market share has been sliding and is now far behind Samsung and local brands. Analysts from Canalys believe the lower-cost iPhone 5C that has set the rumor mill on fire will be perfect for China's market as the regular iPhone is too pricy compared to low-cost, highly-specced phones from Chinese brands.

This deal can be beneficial for both Apple and China Mobile as both giants have seen their profits slump recently.

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