- The United States has expressed concerns about Apple AI AI with Alibaba in China
- About one in five of Apple sales are in China – its second market
- Apple was also criticized for manufacturing in India, not in the United States
The Trump administration and the congress are concerned about the Apple agreement with Alibaba to feed some of the characteristics of AI on iphones in China, noting potential confidentiality problems (via The New York Times).
The concerns about data sharing and the implications of national security have been raised, the potential legal requirements for Apple and Alibaba adhere to the rules of the Chinese regulator at the center of the discussion.
In addition, only Alibaba has publicly confirmed the agreement, Apple remaining silent – this could indicate potential uncertainty or unfinished agreement, or it could simply be a typical apple decision to maintain developments under locks until the last moment.
The agreement is examined in the midst of American-Chinese in progress, with concerns concerning the development of Chinese AI and improving the capacities of Chinese military AI, both rated.
“Alibaba is a child of the poster for the civil military merger strategy of the Chinese Communist Party, and why Apple would choose to work with them on the AI is supposition,” said the representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
Apple has already abandoned an agreement with the Chinese chip manufacturer YMTC about the pressure of the United States, and the Cupertino technology giant is also faced with the challenges of the commercial war and the trips of the China supply chain, with industry experts warning high price hikes for consumers who participate in the next refresher cycle.
However, China is the second market of the company, representing approximately a fifth of its sales, stressing the importance of an agreement so as not to miss against manufacturers of local smartphones.
The US administration has planned to prevent US companies from doing business with Alibaba and other Chinese companies, but no details have been confirmed.
Although the company has sought to diversify its supply chain, President Trump criticized Tim Cook for increasing production in India, urging American national manufacturing in place – one of the president’s ultimate objectives.
In the end, the risks of apple emit the way in which the agreement oscillates, or missing millions of Chinese sales, that is to say potentially serious implications in the United States. Apple had a market share of smartphones of 13% in China in the first three months of 2025 (via Canalys), which put it several steps behind Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.
“The American smartphones market is expected to undergo considerable volatility during the following two to three quarters, affected by inventory corrections and weaken consumer confidence,” said Xuan Chiew, director of research on canalys.
