Alibaba (BABA) Supercharges Apple’s AI Rollout in China with Qwen3—Here’s Why It Matters

Tech giants collide—and collaborate—in China’s AI arms race. Alibaba’s Qwen3 upgrade just became Apple’s secret weapon.

The Backend Power Play

While Apple dazzles with front-end AI features, BABA’s cloud infrastructure quietly does the heavy lifting. No flashy keynote mentions, just cold-hard compute.

Regulatory Chess

Qwen3’s CCP-approved algorithms let Apple sidestep Beijing’s data sovereignty landmines. A rare case of Silicon Valley pragmatism over ideology.

Wall Street’s Blind Spot

Analysts obsess over iPhone sales while BABA’s AI-as-a-service play monetizes the entire ecosystem. (Cue the ‘but muh P/E ratios’ crowd.)

This isn’t just a tech partnership—it’s a blueprint for western firms dancing with China’s digital sovereignty. Whether that dance ends in harmony or handcuffs? The algos aren’t predicting that yet.

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This update lets Qwen3 run on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Macs without relying on cloud servers. It could also help Apple meet China’s strict data laws, which require foreign companies to work with local tech partners to offer AI tools in the region.

Qwen3 Brings Smarter AI to Apple Devices in China

Qwen3 is one of Alibaba’s latest and most powerful AI tools, announced in April 2025. It can handle a wide range of tasks—like answering questions, writing content, and even helping with code. It supports 119 languages, making it useful across different regions and user needs.

With the new update, Qwen3 is now fully tuned to run on Apple’s MLX system. That means it can work directly on Apple devices using the Neural Engine—a special chip inside newer iPhones, iPads, and Macs that processes AI tasks quickly and privately.

This on-device setup is especially important in China, where data privacy laws are strict. By running locally, Qwen3 keeps user data inside the device and within the country, helping Apple comply with local rules. It also gives users a faster and more private AI experience.

Apple Intelligence Still Missing in China

Apple introduced its new AI system—Apple Intelligence—at WWDC in June 2024. While the system added basic support for the Chinese language in the iOS 18.4 update, the full set of features still hasn’t been released in China.

The delay stems from regulations that require Apple to partner with ato launch generative AI tools. Now that Alibaba’s Qwen3 has been updated to work with MLX, Apple may have cleared the final technical hurdle to MOVE forward.

According to recent reports, Apple could launch Apple Intelligence in China with the iOS 18.6 update, which is now in developer testing. This could finally bring Apple’s AI to one of its biggest and most important markets.

What This Means for Alibaba

This collaboration is more than just a win for Apple. It also strengthens Alibaba’s position in the growing AI race. By teaming up with a global tech giant like Apple, Alibaba shows that its Qwen3 model is strong, flexible, and ready for use in real-world apps.

Qwen3 is also open-source and already available on sites like GitHub and Hugging Face, making it easy for developers around the world to download, test, and use it for research, apps, or custom AI solutions.

Is Alibaba Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Analysts remain highly bullish about Alibaba’s stock trajectory. With 12 unanimous Buy ratings, BABA stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Also, the average Alibaba price target of $166 implies 43.15% upside potential from current levels.