European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, was told Thursday during a trip to China that the country would “probably” award more than one 3G licence.

After her meeting with the Chinese information industry minister, Wang Xudong, Reding said he told her that China was sticking to its policy of remaining “technology neutral” and did not disclose which standards China would choose.

China has its own home-grown 3G standard, TD-SCDMA (time division synchronous code division multiple access), which was picked by the Chinese government in January last year. It has officially said the standard would be fully operational in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Reding is on a three day visit to China that ends today. As well as discussing research and development, the information minister has also been discussing how to secure intellectual property rights.

She reportedly cracked open a bottle of champagne Thursday after hearing the outcome of yesterday’s vote on roaming.