China Unicom Ltd chairman Chang Xiaobing may be appointed as China Mobile's next chief executive as part of a proposed restructuring of China's telecom industry which could kick off as early as the 17th of this month, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unnamed sources.

China Mobile's current chief executive Wang Jianzhou may be promoted to the chairman's post, the report said.

Wang had served as China Unicom chairman before moving to China Mobile in November 2004.