Apple built its own AI model for China with Alibaba's help — reportedly the first foreign company Beijing has approved to offer a proprietary AI model there

[Apple](#/company/apple) trained its own large language model built specifically for the Chinese market, with help from [Alibaba](#/company/alibaba), Reuters reported Aug. 14, citing people familiar with the matter. The move makes Apple, per that reporting, the first foreign company Chinese regulators have approved to offer a proprietary AI model inside the country — a shift from Apple's original plan to rely entirely on a licensed third-party model for Apple Intelligence features there.

The proprietary model runs alongside a separate arrangement: Alibaba's Qwen will also be available as an option inside Apple Intelligence, integrated into Siri and Writing Tools across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for users in mainland China. Reuters describes the approach as a "dual-track strategy" — Apple's own approved model plus a licensed alternative, rather than a single bet on either.

The report follows two earlier signals. China's Cyberspace Administration formally approved Apple Intelligence, along with Apple's partnerships with Alibaba and Baidu, in mid-July, according to Bloomberg Law. Then, on Aug. 8, a Chinese-language support guide briefly appeared on Apple's site explaining how eligible Mac users could connect their own Qwen account to Siri and Writing Tools — the extension required macOS 26.6, and the guide specified Alibaba was barred from using submitted material to train its own models. Apple pulled the page within a day and told a customer-service inquiry it had "not received any" launch notification for the feature. Rollout of the China-specific features is expected in the coming months; no confirmed date has been reported, and Apple has not commented publicly beyond the customer-service response.