The monetary sticking point would be, well, what handsetsubsidy (to be recouped through monthly charges on say two year contracts) is China Mobile willing to offer those who buy iPhones.
But most people look for a handsetsubsidy: a lower upfront cost for getting the phone in return for paying some set fee per month over the life of the contract.
The key issue is money, and the fact that Apple prefers to take larger cuts of subsidy payments from mobile networks, compared to other handset makers.
While the overall 3G subsidy expense grew by almost 13% due to the sheer volume of handset sales, it decreased as a percentage of 3G service revenues from about 15.6% in Q1 2012 to 11.6% last quarter.