China Unicom and China Netcom Group (Hong Kong) said Sunday they will reshuffle key management positions as part of a telecom sector restructuring outlined by the government earlier Saturday.

China Unicom said in a statement to the stock exchange that Shang Bing has resigned as president and executive director at the company, while Yang Xiaowei has also resigned as an executive director and vice president. Both executives will take up senior management positions at China Telecommunications Corp., the parent of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom.

China Netcom said separately that its chairman Zhang Chunjiang has resigned as chairman and executive director. He plans to join China Mobile Communications Corp., the parent of Hong Kong-listed China Mobile as a vice president.

China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Netcom said in statements to the stock exchange their shares will remain suspended from trading until further details on the restructuring are finalized. All three companies said they have been notified about the telecom industry restructuring plan.

China on Saturday unveiled details of a telecom sector restructuring plan in an effort to create a more competitive telecommunications industry and prevent one dominant operator from monopolizing the market. Under the plan, the government urged the country's six telecommunications companies to merge to form three groups.