China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said Saturday that such business concerns have prevented the two sides from initiating talks to sell the Apple phone system in China, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said.

"Our door will remain open as long as there is customer demand," Wang said.

Apple initially planned to get its iPhone into the lucrative Chinese market this year, having released it in the United States last year.

The iPhone comes equipped with mobile phone services, as well as Internet, video and music services.

Wang told Xinhua the current number of China Mobile customers exceeds 380 million and continues to expand monthly thanks to customers in China's rural areas.