China to open its doors to the iPhone 4 on Saturday

Apple will be getting a Chinese stamp in its passport yet again as it plans to launch the iPhone 4 in the gigantic nation this Saturday.

The announcement comes exactly one week after Apple also announced Chinese availability of the iPad. That device went on sale three days ago.

The iPhone 4 will be offered through China Unicom, which is the second most popular service provider in China and has more customers than any single mobile services company in the US.

The iPhone 4 went up for pre-orders last Friday before the official announcement this morning. 50,000 orders have already been placed, according to a statement from China Unicom.

Apple has had success from launching the iPhone 3G in China. There are more than 25 million 3G subscribers in the country, a large market that a lot of non-Chinese companies have yet to really tap into.

It all adds up to a bigger Apple presence in China. The company has taken a bigger push than ever before to get into the country that has a huge population but a lot of bureaucratic headaches.

The standard price for the 16 GB version of the iPhone 4 will be the equivalent of roughly $743, and the 32 GB model will sell for $892. Discounted subsidized prices will also be available for customers who sign up for a new service agreement.

The launch of the iPhone 4 will coincide with the opening of two new Apple Stores in China – one in Beijing and another in Shanghai.