Apple is doing a deal with Alibaba to put Alibaba’s artificial intelligence software on iPhones sold in China. Concerns have been raised and discussions are being had about the concerns.
White House and congressional officials are concerned “that the deal would help a Chinese company improve its artificial intelligence abilities, broaden the reach of Chinese chatbots with censorship limits and deepen Apple’s exposure to Beijing laws over censorship and data sharing” (“Apple’s A.I. Ambitions for China Provoke Washington’s Resistance,” The New York Times, May 17, 2025).
Like other companies based in China, Alibaba answers to the Chinese government. We have some idea of how Alibaba in particular answers to the Chinese government.
Deeply embedded
In a May 2, 2025 letter to the SEC urging that Alibaba and other Chinese companies be kicked off of U.S. stock exchanges, the chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, John Moolenaar, and other signatories described Alibaba as a technology conglomerate “designated by the Chinese government to lead national AI development and deeply embedded in China’s military and surveillance systems.”
Embedded how? “Its cloud division works with two Pentagon-designated Chinese military companies—Global Tone Communication Technology and China North Industries Group Corporation—to support data translation, surveillance, and weapons development. Alibaba is reportedly tasked by PRC intelligence agencies to process data on a ‘daily’ basis. Moreover, Alibaba has maintained a CCP Party committee since 2008, now led by a former Chinese police officer and comprising over 2,000 members.”
The New York Times reports that “Washington’s concern about [Apple’s deal with Alibaba] has been heightened by a deepening conviction that A.I. will become a critical military tool.”
During meetings in Washington with senior Apple executives and lobbyists, government officials asked about terms of the deal, what data Apple would be sharing with Alibaba and whether it would be signing any legal commitments with Chinese regulators. In the meeting with the House committee in March, Apple executives were unable to answer most of those questions….
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that it “is extremely disturbing that Apple has not been transparent about its agreement.”
“Alibaba is a poster child for the Chinese Communist Party’s military-civil fusion strategy, and why Apple would choose to work with them on A.I. is anyone’s guess,” he said. “There are serious concerns that this partnership will help Alibaba collect data to refine its models, all while allowing Apple to turn a blind eye to the fundamental rights of its Chinese iPhone users.”…
There is concern in Washington that an Apple deal with Alibaba would set a problematic precedent. U.S. companies could help Chinese A.I. providers reach more users and use the data they collect from those users to improve their models. The risk would be that Baidu, Alibaba, ByteDance and other Chinese companies could then use those improvements to help China’s military.
To limit U.S.-Chinese collaboration, the Trump administration has discussed whether Alibaba and other Chinese A.I. companies should be put on a list prohibiting them from doing business with U.S. companies, the people familiar with the deliberations said.
Delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges, if it happens, would be important but hardly sufficient. The U.S. should also de-enable U.S. companies from collaborating in any respect with Alibaba and other Chinese companies to facilitate the repression and military aggression of the Chinese state. But U.S. government officials are still in a process about this, still mulling whether to add Chinese AI companies to the ban list.
What are you guys waiting for? How much due diligence is required? Get it done. We know China’s track record. Letting American firms strengthen the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army should not be an option.
Also see:
The Select Committee on the CCP: “Chairman Moolenaar, Chairman Scott Urge SEC to Delist CCP-Linked Companies from U.S. Markets”
