China Telecom, the largest fixed-line telecommunications operator in China, opened its subsidiary --China Telecom (USA) Corporation in Washington on Nov. 4.

With the opening of this arm, China Telecom will become the first Chinese telecommunications company to start business in the United States.

Chang Xiaobing, Vice President of China Telecom, said at an opening ceremony that "setting up China Telecom (USA) is the first step in our overseas development strategy," with an aim to bring the US customers closer to China.

Zhang Weihua, head of China Telecom (USA), said the focus of his company was to create seamless communications links between American headquarters and their subsidiaries in China.

The company also unveiled at the ceremony a suite of products called ChinaDirect(TM), that will offer single-provider, end-to-end telecom services to US corporations doing business in China.

China Telecom, the leading operator of telephone, data, Internet and leased line services in China, boasts 123 million residential and business voice lines and runs China's largest Internet network.