In a Tuesday statement, China Unicom’s Chairman Chang Xiaobing said that the carrier, which began offering the popular Apple iPhone in China last week after its October 1 launch of 3G services, had already signed up over one million 3G subscribers by the end of October.

Refraining from detailing any further, Chang said that iPhone, which currently is being sold in the country only by Unicom, will help the company improve its fourth-quarter figures pertaining to average revenue per user.

Noting that Unicom has thus far signed up over 5,000 iPhone users in China, Chang added: “We are satisified with iPhone sales so far, and we aim to have an additional 1 million new 3G subscribers each month in the near future.”

Despite the optimism expressed by the Unicom Chairman, most analysts opine that the handset subsidies and marketing costs of the newly-launched iPhone might affect the company’s profits – the 32-GB iPhone 3GS sells in China for 6,999 yuan without a service contract, which is nearly $800 more than the price that consumers in Hong Kong pay for the same device.

While Chang expects the company to offer more economical smartphone models to augment its 3G business, analysts are of the view that China Unicom’s earnings will plunge in the short term as its 3G startup costs and its fixed-line business will face increasing pressure from subscribers who switch over to mobile phones.