Hong Kong shares of Alibaba and Baidu surged Thursday after both companies confirmed partnerships with Apple to integrate their artificial intelligence models into Apple Intelligence services for users in China, a development that unlocks the iPhone maker's AI features in the world's largest smartphone market.
Alibaba said its Qwen model will be embedded across iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS for China users, allowing text and image understanding and generation without switching between tools, according to a company spokesperson. Baidu separately confirmed it is working with Apple on Apple Intelligence features for iPhones in China.
The market reaction was immediate. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed stock climbed 5 percent, while its U.S.-listed shares had closed modestly higher overnight after the confirmation. Baidu's Hong Kong shares advanced 4 percent. The moves reflect investor bets that Apple's endorsement could accelerate adoption of domestic Chinese AI models at a time when foreign alternatives remain restricted.
The partnerships arrive alongside a regulatory green light. China's Cyberspace Administration on Wednesday placed Apple Intelligence on a list of approved smartphone-based AI service providers, alongside six others including Huawei Technologies. The approval signals Beijing's willingness to allow Apple's AI features to operate in China provided they run on locally vetted models.
The cooperation also underscores the deepening technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing. The United States has restricted China's access to advanced semiconductors, while Beijing has limited U.S. investment in sensitive Chinese tech sectors. A RAND report this year framed AI leadership as central to economic competitiveness and global standard-setting.
Investors will now watch whether Baidu's AI chip affiliate Kunlunxin proceeds with a Hong Kong initial public offering that reports in late June said could value the unit at $50 billion. Apple has not commented publicly on the partnerships, and the scope of the integration across its device ecosystem in China remains to be fully detailed.