11:18     CHINA UNICOM<00762> - Announcement (17)                             

    A circular containing, amongst other things, details of the terms of      
    the Continuing Connected Transactions, letters from the Independent       
    Board Committee and from Lehman Brothers and a notice to Shareholders     
    convening an extraordinary general meeting of the Company to approve,     
    amongst other things, the Continuing Connected Transactions will be       
    despatched to the Shareholders as soon as possible.                       
                                                                              
    5.                                                                        
    General Information                                                       
    The Group is principally engaged in telecommunications businesses in      
    the PRC.                                                                  
                                                                              
    Since the Ministry of Commerce has approved the Unicom New World          
    Merger and the relevant legal procedures will be completed shortly,       
    CUCL and Unicom New World have agreed and confirmed in the relevant       
    New Agreements that upon the completion of the legal procedures           
    relating to the Unicom New World Merger, all the rights and               
    obligations of Unicom New World under the relevant New Agreements         
    will be succeeded by CUCL and CUCL can succeed to the rights and          
    obligations of Unicom New World under the relevant New Agreements         
    without any separate approval and consent from the A Share Company.       
                                                                              
                                                                              
    6.                                                                        
    Definitions                                                               
    In this Announcement, unless the context otherwise requires, the          
    following expressions have the following meanings                         
                                                                              
    `2-Step Approach'              the approach to be adopted in              
                                   the entering into of all                   
                                   connected transactions of the              
                                   Company that require the                   
                                   approval of the Independent                
                                   Shareholders, details of                   
                                   which are set out in the                   
                                   section headed `Details of                 
                                   the 2-Step Approach'                       
    `9A Areas'                     Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi,              
                                   Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan                 
                                   provinces, Chongqing                       
                                   municipality and the Guangxi               
                                   Zhuang and Xinjiang Uygur                  
                                   autonomous regions                         
    `9B Areas'                     Shanxi, Hunan, Hainan,                     
                                   Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai                  
                                   provinces and the Inner                    
                                   Mongolia, Ningxia Hui and                  
                                   Xizang autonomous regions                  
    `A Share Company'              China United                               
                                   Telecommunications                         
                                   Corporation Limited, a                     
                                   company incorporated in the                
                                   PRC on 31 December 2001,                   
                                   whose shares are listed on                 
                                   the Shanghai Stock Exchange,               
                                   and a company in which Unicom              
                                   Group holds a 69.32% equity                
                                   interest                                   
    `Associate'                    has the meaning given to it                
                                   by the Listing Rules                       
    `Board'                        the board of directors of the              
                                   Company                                    
    `Capacity'                     capacity on the constructed                
                                   CDMA Network measured in                   
                                   terms of total number of                   
                                   subscribers                                
    `CDMA'                         Code Division Multiple Access              
                                   Technology, which is a                     
                                   digital transmission                       
                                   technology that accommodates               
                                   higher throughput by using                 
                                   various coding sequences to                
                                   mix and separate voice and                 
                                   data signals for wireless                  
                                   communication, including all               
                                   upgrades to such technology                
                                   from time to time                          
    `CDMA Network'                 the CDMA cellular                          
                                   telecommunications network                 
                                   constructed by Unicom New                  
                                   Horizon in the Twelve                      
                                   Provinces and Municipalities,              
                                   the 9A Areas and the 9B Areas              
    `CDMA Network Services         the CDMA network services                  
    Agreement'                     agreement entered into                     
                                   between CUCL and Unicom Group              
                                   on 22 November 2001 in                     
                                   relation to the                            
                                   interconnection and roaming                
                                   arrangements relating to the               
                                   CDMA Network                               
    `Company'                      China Unicom Limited, a                    
                                   company incorporated in Hong               
                                   Kong whose shares are listed