Apple is reportedly planning to launch a trade-in program for iPhones in China in collaboration with manufacturing giant Foxconn.
The program is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the project.
Chinese consumers will be able to trade in older iPhones for credit against the cost of new devices at Apple stores in China, according to the report.
Foxconn will take ownership of the old devices directly, perform any refurbishments required and then sell them via its e-commerce sites eFeihu and FLNet, as well as Alibaba's Taobao. The source added that Foxconn is in talks with Apple to sell iPhones through physical stores.
Apple expects China to overtake the US as the company's biggest market soon. The company plans to double the number of its stores in Greater China by the middle of next year.
Store credit will only be offered for iPhones originally bought in Greater China, and retail staff will assess a device's condition before offering credit.
IDC estimates that the iPhone had a market share in China of 12.3% for the last 12 months of 2014, and that Apple sold 46.3 million devices in the market that year – up 42% from 2013.