China Mobile is eyeing the European mobile business as well as emerging markets abroad.
The operator, which set up its European, Middle East and African office in London this week, may launch a virtual network in Europe, FT.com reported.
Henry Ge, the head of China Mobile UK, said Mobile would focus on emerging markets, overseas Chinese customers and roaming customers from China. But he said emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East would be priorities for this year.
However, any move by a Chinese carrier into the European voice market is likely to prompt a backlash from local telcos, a Beijing-based European official warned.
Foreign operators are forbidden from directly entering either the basic or value-added services market in China. They would look for reciprocity before allowing the world's biggest carrier onto their home turf, the official said.