Apple’s China AI Push: iPhone Maker Trains Its Own Model With Alibaba

Apple has trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market with support from Alibaba Group, marking a shift in its approach to artificial intelligence (AI) in the country, according to a Reuters report.

The China-specific model was developed with Alibaba’s support, the people said. Apple had previously relied on domestic technology companies to provide AI models for its devices in China, where services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are not available.

Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of AI features, is expected to launch in China in the coming months following an update to its iOS operating system, according to the report.

Apple’s China AI Push

The move could give Apple greater control over how its AI features work in China. The company has faced increasing competition from domestic smartphone makers such as Huawei, which have moved quickly to add AI features to their devices.

Apple has also been working with Chinese technology companies to meet the country’s regulatory requirements. Under an existing arrangement, Alibaba’s Qwen model is expected to be incorporated into the China version of Apple Intelligence across compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro devices.

The Cyberspace Administration of China registered Apple’s generative AI service last month, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the rollout, Reuters reported. The service was also expected to incorporate technology from Baidu.

Apple-Alibaba Partnership

Apple’s partnership with Alibaba was first confirmed in February 2025, when Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai said the iPhone maker had selected the Chinese company to provide AI technology for its phones in China.

The rollout was subsequently delayed as Apple worked to adapt its AI features to Chinese regulations. Last week, Apple also published a Chinese-language guide explaining how eligible Mac users in mainland China could connect Alibaba’s Qwen AI service to Siri and Writing Tools. The guide was later removed.

It remains unclear how Apple’s self-trained model will work alongside Alibaba’s Qwen and other third-party Chinese AI models. Apple has not publicly detailed the role its China-specific model will play in the broader Apple Intelligence rollout.