Alibaba Group Holding’s US-listed shares climbed nearly 6% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company confirmed that its Qwen artificial intelligence model will power Apple Intelligence features on Apple devices in China.
The announcement came shortly after China’s Cyberspace Administration approved Apple’s AI services for use in the country. As a result, Apple can now move forward with the rollout of Apple Intelligence for Chinese users.
The approval marks an important step for Apple, which has spent months working to bring its AI-powered features to one of the world’s largest smartphone markets.
Qwen AI to Power Apple Intelligence Across Apple Devices
Alibaba confirmed that its Qwen AI model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro devices running iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS in China.
Because of this partnership, users in China will gain access to several AI-powered features directly within Apple’s ecosystem. These include text generation, image creation, image recognition and content understanding.
The collaboration allows Apple to offer advanced AI capabilities while complying with China’s local regulations for artificial intelligence services.
Apple Finally Clears Regulatory Hurdle in China
Apple first introduced Apple Intelligence in 2024. However, the company could not launch the service in China because it needed approval from Chinese regulators.
Now that the required clearance has been granted, Apple is preparing to expand its AI ecosystem in the country. Therefore, Chinese customers will soon receive many of the same intelligent features already available in other markets, although they will be powered by local technology partners.
The approval also highlights Apple’s strategy of working with regional companies to meet regulatory requirements in different countries.
Alibaba Strengthens Its Position in the AI Race
The partnership is another major milestone for Alibaba as competition in artificial intelligence continues to grow worldwide.
Although US-China technology tensions remain high, Alibaba has continued expanding the reach of its Qwen AI models. The deal with Apple further strengthens the company’s position as one of China’s leading AI developers.
Investors reacted positively to the announcement. Alibaba’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) rose 5.78% to $118.81 during premarket trading at 1:20 p.m. EST.
AI Competition Continues to Intensify
The announcement arrives at a time when Chinese AI companies face increasing global scrutiny.
Earlier this month, Alibaba reportedly restricted employees from using AI tools developed by Anthropic. Meanwhile, US lawmakers continue to examine how American companies are adopting Chinese artificial intelligence technologies.
Despite these concerns, partnerships between global technology companies and Chinese AI firms continue to evolve as demand for advanced AI services grows.
Smaller AI Models Could Bring Faster On-Device Performance
The latest development also comes alongside efforts to make powerful AI models run directly on smartphones.
Recently, US startup PrismML introduced a compressed version of Alibaba’s open-source Qwen model. The company reduced the model’s size from nearly 54GB to less than 4GB without significantly affecting its capabilities.
As a result, the 27-billion-parameter AI model can reportedly run on an iPhone 15 or newer device. This advancement could enable faster on-device AI processing while reducing dependence on cloud computing.
If such optimisations become widely available, smartphone users may experience quicker responses, improved privacy and lower internet usage for AI-powered tasks.
What This Means for Apple and Alibaba
Apple’s approval to launch Apple Intelligence in China represents a major breakthrough for the company in one of its most important markets. At the same time, Alibaba gains a valuable opportunity to showcase Qwen AI on millions of Apple devices.
The partnership also signals how global technology companies are increasingly relying on local AI providers to expand into regulated markets. As artificial intelligence becomes central to smartphones, collaborations like this are expected to play a bigger role in shaping the future of mobile technology.