(Reuters) – Apple and Alibaba’s rollout of artificial intelligence services in China is being delayed by a Beijing regulator, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the partnership becomes the latest to take a hit due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The tech companies in February announced a deal to support iPhones’ AI services offering in China, a move likely to help the U.S. company ease falling smartphone sales in its key market.
But their applications have been stalled at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), FT reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, due to increasing geopolitical uncertainties between China and the U.S.
AI features are especially important in China and consumer-facing AI products require regulatory approval.
Apple and Alibaba did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while the CAC could not immediately be reached.
A delay in the rollout of the features could prove costly for Apple, which is facing declining iPhone sales in China amid growing competition from domestic rivals, particularly Huawei, which has integrated DeepSeek’s AI models into its cloud services and devices.
Industry analysts have pointed to the absence of advanced AI features – a key selling point in latest-generation smartphones – as a significant disadvantage for Apple in the Chinese market.
The iPhone maker has also been slow in rolling out Apple Intelligence, a set of features with access to ChatGPT, with several advanced AI tools available on competing Android smartphones.
Trump in late May said that Apple would pay a 25% tariff on iPhones that are sold in the United States but not made in the country.
Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 9 to 13, and it will highlight updates to the software powering iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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