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To China’s many–and sometimes violent –iPhone fans, Apple says the love is mutual.

Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the company’s focus on China during their earnings call on Tuesday, calling iPhone demand in the world’s largest mobile market “staggering.”

“I try to be very clear in the past and I’ll do so again that we have a ton more energy in the China market today” than in other emerging geographies, Mr. Cook said, as the company announced its highest quarterly revenue and earnings in history, the first quarter ending after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

“That doesn’t mean that there is a lack of effort or focus on the others. It just means that it’s less than what we’re investing in China today,” he said.

The company didn’t offer many details on its retail efforts in China this time, but had said last year that its China Apple Stores were receiving the most traffic and revenue on average than of any Apple Stores in the world.

Mr. Cook said Apple is “selling through our reseller stores and our online store” for the iPhone. The company stopped selling iPhones in its five retail stores in China this month shortly after launching the iPhone 4S because unruly customers in Beijing led police to seal off a store there. “The demand is off the charts.”

Though the company has had discussions with China’s other mobile carriers, Mr. Cook did not provide any information about when the iPhone might be launched with new partners in China. “China Unicom continues to be a very key partner,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to announce today on the expansion there.”

An iPhone compatible with the mobile network of China’ third-largest mobile carrier, China Telecom, cleared a key regulatory hurdle when it was awarded a network access license earlier this month.

Apple’s growing business has also attracted increasing scrutiny from environment and human rights activists, who have complained about conditions at its suppliers and criticized the company for a lack of transparency in its supply chain. Under this pressure, the company disclosed a list of 156 companies this month that represent more of its supply chain spending than ever before. Apple will also be opening its supply chain to an independent assessment by the the non-profit Fair Labor Association, the association said in a recent press release.

“China is an extremely important market for us and we continue to look at how to grow it further,” Mr. Cook said.

– Loretta Chao. Follower on Twitter @lorettac.

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Chinese people line up to buy iPhone 4S in a China Unicom store in the early morning on January 13, 2012 in Beijing, China.

NOTE: This post has been changed since it was first published. See below.

Chinese Apple fans upset over the company’s decision to temporarily halt sales of the iPhone 4S at its retail stores in China may soon have another way to get their hands on the device.

An iPhone compatible with the mobile network of China’ third-largest mobile carrier, China Telecom, has received a network access license, a regulatory website shows, marking a key step toward Apple being able to sell the phone to a broader audience in China.

The iPhone 4S is currently being sold in China through China Unicom, the country’s second-largest mobile carrier, as well as through Apple’s online store and resellers. Once Apple starts offering a version compatible with China Telecom’s network, the latest iteration of the device would presumably also be made available through China Telecom stores.

The license arrives as Apple aims to increase sales of its smartphones and iPad tablet computers in what has become a key growth market for the company. Offering an iPhone compatible with China Telecom technology will open up use of the device to tens of millions more Chinese mobile subscribers.

An iPhone supporting the CDMA-2000 mobile technology used by China Telecom received the license on Tuesday, the website of China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center showed. Vendors in China often start selling new handsets within weeks of devices receiving network access licenses. Some analysts expect China Telecom to start offering the iPhone in the coming months.

Apple and China Telecom both declined to comment.

China Telecom has previously expressed interest in offering Apple devices. In March last year, chairman Wang Xiaochu cited a confidential agreement with Apple as the reason he couldn’t comment on whether China Telecom would offer the iPhone or iPad. The country’s largest fixed-line operator and third-largest mobile operator by subscriber accounts, the company had 123.4 million mobile customers at the end of November, including 33.4 million users of its third-generation mobile services.

China Mobile, the world’s biggest carrier by subscriber accounts, has for years said it is talking to Apple about offering the iPhone. Its homegrown 3G mobile standard, TD-SCDMA, is not compatible with any current version of the Apple device.

CORRECTION: The iPhone 4S is being sold in China through China Unicom stores, Apple’s online store and authorized Apple resellers. A previous post mistakenly said the device was only available through China Unicom.

– Owen Fletcher. Follow him on Twitter @owenfletcher

China’s aggressive scalpers sell tickets for concerts and sporting events just like their U.S. counterparts do. But they also make a wider practice of scalping, sometimes devouring the supplies of train tickets, spots in line at crowded hospitals and even iPhones.

Some Chinese media reports blamed scuffles involving organized bands of scalpers for Apple’s decision not to open its flagship Beijing store on Friday, the day it was scheduled to start selling the new iPhone 4S. It wasn’t possible to verify those claims, but history suggests they’re highly plausible.

Scalpers have been a regular presence around the flagship Apple outlet in Beijing’s Sanlitun Village mall ever since the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010, offering customers the chance to skip waiting in line in exchange for mark-ups that vary depending on demand. Some blamed scalpers for a scuffle that broke out at the same store in May as customers lined up to buy the white iPhone 4.

At least one unhappy Apple customer pelted the Sanlitun Apple store with a handful of eggs Friday morning, as a crowd of people waiting in line grew impatient when the store didn’t open. Soon afterward, several men from the crowd chased and attacked a man who had stepped in and claimed to be an employee of the shopping mall.

State-run Xinhua news agency said many of the people in line at the Sanlitun store had been hired by scalpers to wait for the phone to go on sale (in Chinese). Other media reports (in Chinese) said disputes occurred among scalpers as a crowd gathered outside the store Thursday evening.

Friday morning ended with police pushing the crowd away from the Apple store and cordoning it off.

Apple later said it was unable to open the Sanlitun store Friday “due to the large crowd.”

The company also said it would suspend sales of all iPhone models in its China retail stores “for the time being” to ensure the safety of its customers and employees. The iPhone 4S will still be available from resellers and mobile carrier China Unicom, Apple said. It added that its China stores had already sold out of iPhone 4S handsets.

Besides those who were waiting to buy the new iPhone, the identities of other people at the chaotic scene outside the Sanlitun store were also unclear. As police began to clear the area, plainclothes men with megaphones announced sales of the iPhone 4S wouldn’t start and everyone should go home. When asked if he was associated with the police or with Apple, one of the megaphone bearers would only describe his job simply: “I’m someone who shouts things for people.”

– Owen Fletcher. Follow him on Twitter @owenfletcher

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A large sign promoting the iPhone 4 in the background as shoppers browse products inside an Apple store in Beijing, on November 25, 2011.

China Telecom may soon become the second Chinese mobile carrier to offer the iPhone.

Both Apple and China Unicom, currently the country’s only carrier to offer the U.S. company’s smartphones, are scheduled to start selling the iPhone 4S in China on Friday, a move likely to further drive Apple’s growth in what has become a key market for the company.

Analysts expect that the version of the iPhone 4S due this week won’t work on China Telecom’s network. Just like AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the U.S., China Unicom and China Telecom use different wireless technologies. That means phones made for one usually don’t work on the other’s network.

But an Apple-made mobile phone that does use the same technology as China Telecom’s network has been approved by the national telecom regulator’s China Radio Management agency, which certifies radio-signal-emitting devices for use in the country, according to an agency website (in Chinese).

While the website only identifies the phone by a model number, A1387, it says the phone is compatible with “CDMA-2000,” the third-generation mobile technology used by China Telecom. An employee reached by phone at the agency on Monday confirmed that the device had been approved.

The approval doesn’t mean sales of the device are imminent. Mobile phones must also get other certifications, including a network access license, before being sold in China.

But it is a signpost. If Apple is indeed taking the phone through the usual regulatory steps, the process could be finished in a matter of weeks. Its completion would open the door to China Telecom partnering with Apple to offer the phone.

China Telecom is China’s largest fixed-line operator and third-largest mobile operator by subscriber accounts. The nation’s largest mobile operator, China Mobile, has repeatedly said it is in talks with Apple about also offering the iPhone in China, but its homegrown 3G mobile standard, TD-SCDMA, is not compatible with any current version of the Apple device.

An iPhone compatible with China Telecom’s network could attract buyers who don’t currently use the iPhone. China Telecom had 123 million mobile subscriber accounts at the end of November, including 33 million 3G accounts. But China Telecom’s expenses could also surge if it offers the iPhone, since it might heavily subsidize the phone’s retail price to attract mobile subscribers—just as China Unicom has done.

Jefferies analyst Cynthia Meng said Monday that she expects China Telecom to start offering the iPhone 4S sometime in the first quarter.

The phone that got the approval is also compatible with WCDMA technology, according to the agency website. That refers to the technology used by China Unicom, suggesting the model might work on either company’s network.

A China Telecom spokesman declined to comment on any talks about offering the iPhone. But company chairman Wang Xiaochu in March last year cited a confidential agreement with Apple as the reason he couldn’t comment on whether China Telecom would offer the iPhone or iPad. The company has also previously expressed interest in offering the devices.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

– Owen Fletcher. Follow him on Twitter @owenfletcher

Westinghouse Electric Company

Your round-up of the best of The Wall Street Journal’s China coverage from over the weekend:

China’s Nuclear Fears Could Lift U.S. Firms: A new emphasis on safety in nuclear power would likely mean a greater reliance on Western reactor technology and plant-management methods—and on Western providers of nuclear equipment and services. (Free)

Coke Says China Juice Drinks Aren’t Toxic: Coca-Cola said it has found no product quality issue with its Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky juice drinks in China after a child who drank from a bottle died and three others fell sick. (Subscriber content)

China Unicom, China Telecom Ask Regulator to Halt Probe: China’s two major fixed-line network operators separately pledged to address problems they found and asked regulators to suspend an antitrust investigation. (Free)

China’s Central Bank Calls Property Market ‘Turning Point’: China’s central bank acknowledged for the first time that the country’s housing prices have reached a turning point, following a decline in property investment, land transaction volumes and prices. (Free)

 Our Guest Today
Stan Abrams is a Beijing-based lawyer with focuses on technology, intellectual property and Internet-related law issues. Mr. Abrams has extensive experience in foreign direct investment in China, having worked here for over 12 years. He also teaches law at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics.

Qilai Shen/European Pressphoto Agency

Shoppers line up outside an Apple store to buy the newly released white iPhones in Shanghai, China, on April 28, 2011.

A microblog message declaring that China Mobile may be on the verge of an agreement with Apple to offer the iPhone 5 has caused a stir in the world’s biggest handset market, offering a glimpse into what may be heavy demand for the next iPhone release.

“The day is coming soon,” Liu Yang, a user of Twitter-like microblogging site Sina Weibo who identifies himself on his verified account as a China Mobile salesperson, wrote in a message posted Thursday. “The days of changing our phone numbers…are numbered…China Mobile is to make a final decision to introduce the iPhone 5 in September.”

Mr. Liu’s message was hardly official given that details of the iPhone 5, including its next-generation 4G high-speed data capabilities, are still unknown. It had nevertheless attracted more than 1,000 responses by Friday afternoon from users who expressed both excitement and skepticism about the possibility of an iPhone offered officially by China’s most popular mobile carrier could be in the works.

“I hope it’s not fake news,” one user wrote. Another user by the name Yu Nuo said, “Is this true? Or will we have our hopes dashed to pieces again?”

The commotion surrounding the message appears to be at least partly attributable to reports that Apple COO Tim Cook visited China Mobile this week in Beijing.

China Mobile operates a homegrown 3G mobile standard called TD-SCDMA that is only widely used in China and is not compatible with currently released versions of the iPhone.

Instead, iPhones can only be used with 3G service if paired with a data plan from China Mobile’s top competitor, China Unicom, which means iPhone users in China who have wanted to switch to high-speed data plans have had to switch telephone numbers.

The iPhone 4 has been a hit in China, drawing lines and even causing fights at the company’s Apple Stores, but analysts say many customers have hesitated to switch away from China Mobile, which had more than 600 million subscribers as of May.

Still, some users have questioned the merits of buying a China Mobile iPhone, even if the device were to be reengineered to incorporate China Mobile’s 3G standard. “If my cellphone model is TD-SCDMA, then could I use [other networks] when I go abroad?” one Weibo user wrote.

A China Mobile media officer declined to comment on the company’s negotiations with Apple, except to reiterate that the companies are in contact. When asked about the message on Sina Weibo, he said he doesn’t know Mr. Liu, as “there are more than a thousand employees at China Mobile.”

– Loretta Chao, with contributions from Sue Feng. Follow Sue on Twitter @lorettac

Chinese authorities have begun a sweeping corruption investigation targeting the country’s telecom operators, China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp.

Dow Jones, citing Chinese state media, reported that more than 60 people, including government officials and telecom employees, were under investigation for alleged corruption.

The nature of the allegations was unclear. In previous cases, the Chinese authorities detained executives at China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier, on suspicion of embezzlement and accepting bribes.

The Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, sent agents to the three network operators to investigate mid-level executives and above, Caixin media group reported on its website Friday.

The executives were asked hand over their passports during the investigation, which is likely to continue until early June, the report said.

China Mobile and China Unicom didn’t reply to requests for comment Tuesday. A China Telecom spokesman told Dow Jones the company hasn’t yet received information about the investigation.

– Joe Palazzolo

WSJ Highlights:

• Regardless of where Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s successor comes from, Asia is set to take on a larger role at the IMF.
• Low river levels and high coal prices prompt China to limit manufacturers’ power use.
• High-level U.S.-China military talks begin in Washington as the Pentagon works to warm chilly defense relations.

Elsewhere:

• Pakistan says it wants China to take the lead in world affairs (Times of India).
• China Unicom is set to immediately start offering Blackberry handsets and services (Dow Jones).
• Days after drunk driving is made a criminal offense, China’s top court urges lower courts to be lenient on drunk-driving offenders (China Daily).
• Not dead yet: What’s behind the resurgence of China’s hardline Maoist left? (China Media Project).
• Is China really re-balancing? Peking University finance professor Michael Pettis says no. (Carnegie Endowment).
• The Far East Conference: The authoritative, and wonderfully written, story of ex-NBA star Stephon Marbury’s resurrection in the Middle Kingdom (GQ).

Just Because:

• Harvard students produce their own version of the 2008 Olympic theme song. (The Atlantic).

– compiled by Josh Chin