It appears that Apple could be readying Apple Intelligence to launch in China, following its deal with Alibaba to use its Qwen models, according to a report by South China Morning Post.
The report says Alibaba has updated its ChatGPT competitor Qwen3, which it says has been optimized for the Apple Intelligence framework used on Apple’s devices.
Why Not Use ChatGPT in China?
Although Apple partnered with OpenAI for the launch of Apple Intelligence in the US and other regions of the world, allowing fallback to ChatGPT for anything Apple’s own AI systems couldn’t handle, ChatGPT is banned in China. The Chinese government requires Apple to partner with a Chinese AI firm instead.
Apple was reportedly in discussions with several Chinese AI firms before Alibaba announced that it had signed a deal with the Cupertino company in February.
Is Apple Intelligence Ready for China?
While there had been concerns that the tariff war between the United States and China might delay the launch of Apple Intelligence in China, the South China Morning Post report indicates that the announcement of Qwen3 paves the way for Apple’s AI to launch in the communist nation.
In a Monday post on X, Alibaba’s Qwen team cloud computing unit announced that it had launched open-source Qwen3 models optimized for Apple’s MLX framework for machine learning.
Open source allows the public to access the source code of software programs, allowing third-party developers to modify or share the design, fix broken parts of the code, and increase its capabilities.
The announcement could signal the impending roll-out in China of Apple Intelligence machine-learning technology on several Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
The Qwen team’s post says Qwen3 makes it possible to train and run a range of models on various Apple devices, from powerful devices — like the Mac Pro, Mac Studio, MacBook, and iPad — to relatively less powerful devices like the iPhone.
“Qwen is capable of whatever you are after, be it extreme performance or low-power deployment,” the team wrote in a separate post on the Chinese social-media platform RedNote.
What Are the US Government’s Concerns?
As reported by 9to5Mac, it appears that the launch of Apple Intelligence inside of Chinese borders is proceeding despite any US government concerns about Apple’s deal with Chinese AI firm Alibaba.
Last month, lawmakers expressed national security concerns that such a partnership could aid China in developing its AI capabilities by using personal data collected from US citizens.
A senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, termed the deal “extremely disturbing,” warning that Apple could be enabling a company closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party. The concerns mirror those expressed over TikTok, which resulted in an on-again-off-again ban for the social app in the US.
“The United States is in an AI race with China, and we just don’t want American companies helping Chinese companies run faster,” added Greg Allen, the director of the Wadhwani A.I. Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The US government isn’t likely to be the only group criticizing Apple’s deal with Alibaba, as human rights advocates are also sure to send flak Apple’s way, being that Qwen3 censors its output according to Chinese government directives.
