Chang Xiaobing, president of China Unicom (CHU), has disclosed to Hong Hong media that his company is seeking a global partner for its CDMA service.

Some analysts say that the purpose of China Unicom in reaching an alliance with an overseas partner is to upgrade its CDMA network to 3G, which may involve millions of dollars.

Lu Qijun from the State Asset Commission says that compared with a GSM network, upgrading CDMA networks is cheaper. China Unicom is one of the few telecom operators in the world that runs two networks in the same area.