I know this is an absolutely ancient thread, but as someone who had to help someone else out with this (and succeeded... to a degree), let me put in my two cents so that anyone else that wants to will have an English-language resource.
First off, yes, you can get an American Droid X functioning on China Telecom. However, China Telecom uses R-UIM cards (SIM-equivalent for CDMA) and there's no slot for such a card on the Droid X so you have two ways of doing it.
1. Take it to a CDMA specialist shop, where your phone will be modified to have a R-UIM slot like the local-market model. This is a one-way modification; there is no guarantee it will function when you return, even if you stick in a Verizon SIM. Then it's just a matter of buying a China Telecom R-UIM and stuffing it in the new slot. PRL and EVDO login info all included in the SIM, no further work needed, and it supports numbers from all regions of China. Easy peasy, but only good if you plan on staying long-term or selling it on within China. Because this person was an exchange student and would be leaving in a semester, the following was used instead:
2. Program in the China Telecom data. This is a toughie because of how their R-UIMs work; each has its own MEID which identifies to the network; the device MEID is, as far as I know, irrelevant. China Telecom only has these cards loaded into their device database and is also only willing to change its device database (via "trusted" third parties) in certain regions, Shanghai being one of many that won't. If your region won't, then you have to do something to make your phone match an entry in their database, which is not legal to do in the US. Motorolas are also resistant to this, so an unmodified Droid X is limited to getting a number from one of the regions that will allow changes in their database.
Here's how it went down for this student:
1. Find a seller that will help you with a device database modification with activation. I found one online.
2. Select a phone number and pay for it. Tell the seller you want them to modify their local China Telecom's device database (改局端, gai3 ju2 duan1) to fit your phone.
3. You will receive back with your purchase the necessary info; the IMSI (first ten digits are the MDN, last ten digits are the MIN; yes, there's overlap), the A-KEY, and the AN/AAA login for EVDO. You will not have any sort of data service if you don't flash in the China Telecom PRL, however (this student was OK with just calling and texting). The seller assumes you will look up the Home SID/NID yourself, but the databases are all in Chinese, so ask the seller to supply you with that too.
4. Enter "service mode" on the Droid X and put in the MDN, MIN, home SID/NID, and A-Key. This will give you access to voice/text.
5. Let it sit for a day or two; changing the China Telecom device database is far from quick. You'll know it succeeded when you get two texts in Chinese from the phone number 10000, welcoming you to China Telecom (and to not paying a fortune in roaming fees).
This student was unwilling to fiddle around with flashing PRLs or additional programming (you need to plug it into a computer and use certain tools to put in the China Telecom PRL and EVDO login) so my story ends here- after a tense night of waiting, his $16 activation fee was not spent in vain and he managed to get voice service for much cheaper than the others (seriously, that one-time fee covered 100 minutes and 100 texts a month for a year; try getting THAT kind of pricing out of any American provider).
