Apple Intelligence gets China approval, to use Alibaba's Qwen AI model

Published Jul 15, 01:15 PM UTC

Apple Intelligence has received regulatory clearance from China's Cyberspace Administration, allowing the service to launch in the country. Alibaba confirmed that its Qwen AI model will power Apple Intelligence across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for Chinese users, enabling text and image processing within Apple's interface. Apple is also collaborating with Baidu on additional features. The approval ends a multi-year wait since Apple Intelligence was first announced in 2024. Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares rose about 4% on the news. The clearance comes amid intensifying US-China tech competition and regulatory tensions, including Alibaba banning staff use of Anthropic tools and US lawmakers considering restrictions on Chinese AI technology. Apple recently unveiled a rebuilt Siri powered by Google Gemini, which will not be available in China.