Since Apple has successfully made a debut in Hong Kong, reports have been springing up about the iPhone (News - Alert) 4S making another debut in mainland China. This new move will introduce Apple's latest phone to one of the most heavily populated regions of the world and the largest mobile phone market available.

Reports from November stated that the phone will arrive in the mainland at some time around December. However, on December 6th, the company gained its network access permit from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which still put it at one more step before being received with open arms in China.

China Unicom (News - Alert) was the first mobile carrier in the mainland to receive the government permit that allows it to sell the iPhone 4S within the Chinese mainland. One source, though, says that the permit was only for the iPhone 4. Until now, China's been making it difficult for Apple (News - Alert) to get into the market. The company didn't really step down from the challenge, though.

The People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, put clarity into the situation confirming that the A1431, iPhone 4S's model number, went through the final step on December 21, getting a China Compulsory Certification. Apple will start selling to retailers and launch the iPhone 4S in China just in time for its New Year celebration on January 23, 2012. Distributors in Shenyang and Shenzhen already started pre-ordering models for their stock, according to the report.

Greater China, a name which Apple gave to a collective of three largely populated regions of China, has become the company's biggest fish. Its sales in the region -- composed of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China -- went up 270 percent since the year 2010. China's middle class is getting bigger and they're dying to have iPhones in their pockets.