China’s second-largest mobile operator, China Unicom, is in discussions with Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom over a tie-up around app stores, reports Bloomberg. The alliance – which came to light at a China-Taiwan telecoms conference in Beijing this week – will focus initially on e-book sales, but could develop into a broader coalition in the apps space, say sources. Chunghwa Telecom opened its first app store, called ‘Hami Apps’, last month, and started selling e-books online late last year. China Unicom – the exclusive distributor of the iPhone in China – sells iPhone apps via Apple’s Chinese app store but hasn’t yet got a store of its own. However, reports suggest that Unicom’s app store, apparently named the ‘UniStore,’ is coming soon.

Unicom’s larger domestic rival – China Mobile – has already launched its own app store (‘Mobile Market’) to support its Android-based ‘OPhone’ smartphones. The Taiwanese app stores are also largely based around Android devices, according to Bloomberg. A tie-up between Unicom and Chunghwa Telecom would mirror the existing alliance between China Mobile and another Taiwanese mobile operator, Far EasTone. Although China Mobile has been blocked from buying an equity stake in Far EasTone, the two operators are collaborating in areas such as TD-LTE. The relationship has led to speculation that China’s other two mobile operators – Unicom and China Telecom – are also seeking Taiwanese partners.