Apple has cleared one of the biggest hurdles to bringing Apple Intelligence to mainland China. The Cyberspace Administration of China has officially registered Apple’s generative AI service for use on iPhones, paving the way for an official launch in the country.
Apple has not announced when Apple Intelligence will become available in China, but the regulatory approval is a required step before generative AI services can be rolled out to consumers under the country’s AI regulations.
According to Reuters, Apple Intelligence in China will integrate capabilities from Alibaba’s Qwen AI model as well as Baidu’s AI models. Alibaba has confirmed that Qwen will power Apple Intelligence experiences across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for users in China.
The company says users will be able to access Qwen’s text and image understanding and generation features directly through Apple Intelligence, without needing to switch between separate apps.
The arrangement is different from Apple’s implementation in other regions. In the United States and several other markets, Apple Intelligence can hand more advanced requests to ChatGPT when users choose to enable the integration. In China, Apple is instead partnering with local AI providers to comply with the country’s regulations.
Apple first introduced Apple Intelligence in 2024, but the feature has remained unavailable in mainland China while the company worked to satisfy local regulatory requirements. Reports throughout 2025 indicated that Apple had been in discussions with both Alibaba and Baidu to bring its AI platform to the country.
The approval comes as AI features have become a major focus for smartphone makers in China, with companies including Huawei and Xiaomi expanding their own generative AI offerings. Apple also recently reported stronger results in Greater China, with revenue from the region reaching $20.5 billion in its fiscal second quarter, while recent industry data showed Apple among the few smartphone vendors to record shipment growth in the country.
Apple has not commented on the regulator’s announcement, and neither Apple nor the Cyberspace Administration of China has shared which Apple Intelligence features will be available at launch or when the rollout will begin.
With regulatory approval now in place and its partnerships with Alibaba and Baidu confirmed, Apple Intelligence appears one step closer to launching for iPhone users in mainland China, potentially around the time Apple releases its next generation of iPhones and software updates later this year.
(via Reuters)
