[Digital Today reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Apple Intelligence has received approval to launch in China by linking with Alibaba’s Qwen AI. TechCrunch reported on July 15 local time that China’s internet regulator approved Apple’s AI service in the country based on a partnership with Alibaba.

Apple plans to integrate Qwen into its operating systems including iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS. The partnership had been rumored since last year and became a catalyst for Apple to step up its AI strategy in the China market.

Apple posted $20.5 billion in revenue in Greater China in the second quarter. That was up 28 percent from a year earlier.

Before cooperating with Alibaba, Apple also considered a partnership with Baidu, but there were issues in applying a model tailored to Chinese users, TechCrunch reported. Apple also reviewed linking with models from DeepSeek and ByteDance, and this process delayed the China launch of Apple Intelligence that was unveiled in 2024, TechCrunch added.

After news of the deal was reported, Alibaba shares listed in the United States rose 4 percent in premarket trading. As of the time of writing, the gain had widened to more than 6 percent.