On the heels of Apple announcing on Sunday a partnership with China Mobile to sell the iPhone in that country, pre-orders for the iPhone 5s and 5c were made available on Christmas day in the Middle Kingdom.

China Mobile commenced accepting pre-registration via its website, and through a customer service hotline on December 25. The iPhone will be available in China to subscribers on January 17.

Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the partnership, “Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together. China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world’s largest network.”

Below is Apple’s 2013 Christmas ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImlmVqH_5HM

No price point has been established for the iPhones, and China Mobile currently comprises over 763 million customers, roughly two-thirds of the entire country. The iPhone isn’t new to China; millions of users have adopted jailbroken devices for some time now, though most operate on slower networks. The China Mobile deal will allow users to access the fastest cellular networks, and likewise upgrade their devices.

Various Twitter intrigue regarding the partnership:

Apple / China Mobile update: Apple iPhone pre-orders over 2 million on China Mobile. See http://t.co/yXTrAPOrxy for more @BNN #uscomp $APPL

— Chitra Nawbatt (@chitranawbatt) December 27, 2013

Here's how Apple will make an extra $13 billion in 2014 http://t.co/VxDmHaAMsx by @zacharye

— BGR (@BGR) December 23, 2013

Apple has a China problem. Why just selling the iPhone there won't fix it: http://t.co/c1nh6bNrIX http://t.co/Mb8wlwoPJE @DavidGoldmanCNN

— CNNMoney.com (@CNNMoney) December 23, 2013

In related China news, on Saturday the unmanned Chang’e-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon. Chang’e-3 delivered “Yutu”, a.k.a “Jade Rabbit,” a solar-powered, six-wheeled robotic rover, equipped with multiple cameras and a number of spectrometers for sampling and analyzing the lunar landscape.

Below is a clip of Chang’e-3 making a landing on the moon:

Image via YouTube.