WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday declined China Telecom Corp's emergency bid to halt a U.S. Federal Communications Commission order withdrawing its authority to provide services in the United States.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Columbia rejected the U.S. arm of China Telecom's bid to temporarily block the FCC order, which takes effect in early January, pending a full review of its legal challenge. China Telecom had warned it must notify U.S. customers of the decision by Saturday. (Reporting by David Shepardson)