Nokia announced the launch of the first CDMA Windows Phone in China, the 800C (pictured), which will be sold by China Telecom.

The launch follows the debut of the Microsoft platform in the country earlier this month, with HTC’s X310e Eternity.

In a statement, Nokia and China Telecom said that a CDMA version of Nokia’s entry-level Lumia 610 smartphone will also be made available later in the year, targeting “a more youthful audience.”

The recovering handset maker announced its plans to target China with CDMA handsets at GSMA Mobile World Congress earlier this year.

In an interview with Mobile World Live at that time, Stephen Elop, president and CEO of Nokia, declined to comment on whether it now intends to launch CDMA smartphones in the US, stating: “we haven’t made any announcements about the US and CDMA specifically.”

Nokia has traditionally been strong in China, offering Symbian OS smartphones as well as feature phones – including devices supporting market leader China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G network technology.

According to a recent report from IDC, China will be the world’s biggest smartphone market this year, overtaking the US. The driver will be lower cost devices, however, where Android devices are now eating into the market share previously held by Symbian OS.

While Nokia has been the biggest supplier of handsets globally for some time, in recent years it has had a low profile in the CDMA market.

In a statement, Nokia said that it has worked with the operator “to bring together integrated China Telecom services” across areas including music, games, videos and reading apps.

The 800C will be priced at CNY3599 (US$571) without service contract, and will be available in April.