Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership

8:12 PM · July 16, 2026

Hong Kong listed shares of Alibaba and Baidu both jumped following confirmation that China's Cyberspace Administration has approved Apple Intelligence for launch in the country, with both companies' AI models powering different parts of the feature set, according to CNBC. Alibaba's Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for users in China, giving them access to capabilities such as text and image understanding and generation without needing to switch between separate apps. Baidu separately confirmed it is also working with Apple on Apple Intelligence features for iPhones in China, meaning Apple has split its AI dependency in the country across two major domestic providers rather than choosing a single partner. The arrangement follows months of delay for Apple in bringing AI features to Chinese users, after earlier talks with other providers failed to produce a deal, and comes as Apple's China business remains an important and pressured part of its overall sales. The dual partnership underscores how dependent Western hardware makers have become on domestic Chinese AI labs to clear local regulatory review, and gives investors a clearer read on how both Alibaba and Baidu stand to benefit commercially from Apple's device install base in China.