MacRumors.com

International Business Times covers a report from Chinese news site Sina.com.cn claiming that Apple executives, headed by vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing Greg Joswiak, are headed to Beijing this week to discuss with representatives of wireless carrier China Unicom plans for launching the iPhone there.

"Senior officials from Apple Inc are to visit China this week, and they haven't arrived in Beijing yet," the informed source told Sina.com. "Apple's branch company in China are ready for the reception, and it has informed China Unicom about this earlier," the source revealed the information on Monday night.

"Their visit aims to visit senior officials of China Unicom and discuss with them how iPhone should enter Chinese market," the source said, adding that officials of Apple may also meet seniors of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Late last week, several images of the China-specific iPhone surfaced, along with evidence that China's State Radio Regulatory Commission had approved the device for sale on May 7th. Several reports out of the region have recently indicated that a deal between Apple and China Unicom is imminent, and this week's meeting may be related to finalization of details of the partnership.