A potential collaboration between Apple and Chinese tech giant Alibaba is drawing scrutiny from top U.S. officials, according to a New York Times report. The deal reportedly involves integrating Alibaba’s artificial intelligence tools into iPhones sold within China—a move that has raised national security and policy concerns within the White House and on Capitol Hill.

According to individuals familiar with the matter, U.S. authorities are particularly worried that this agreement could provide Alibaba with a significant technological edge by advancing its AI capabilities. There are also fears that the arrangement could amplify the spread of China’s state-regulated chatbots, which are subject to heavy censorship. These developments could lead to Apple becoming increasingly entangled with Beijing's strict data control and content moderation laws.

So far, neither Apple nor Alibaba has publicly addressed the concerns or confirmed the details of the report when approached by Reuters for comment. The hesitation from both companies reflects the sensitivity of the issue, which sits at the intersection of global technology competition, privacy, and geopolitical friction between Washington and Beijing.

Back in February, Alibaba had openly acknowledged its collaboration with Apple, stating that it would assist in powering AI features for iPhones distributed in the Chinese market. The news was perceived as a strategic coup for Alibaba, whose AI division is vying for dominance in China’s fast-evolving artificial intelligence sector—a space that also includes emerging players like DeepSeek, known for developing powerful AI models at relatively low cost compared to Western counterparts.

While the full scope of the Apple-Alibaba deal remains unclear, experts point out that partnerships of this nature could have broad implications. For instance, they could potentially open a channel for Chinese-developed AI systems to influence how technology products behave within highly regulated environments. That includes shaping user interactions, determining access to information, and storing user data under China's cybersecurity framework.

In the broader picture, this development underscores the growing challenge faced by multinational tech firms like Apple, which must balance access to the lucrative Chinese market with compliance obligations in the U.S. Apple, in particular, has been walking a tightrope—attempting to maintain market share in China while avoiding backlash at home for perceived concessions to Chinese censorship or surveillance norms. With AI increasingly at the heart of global tech rivalry, the U.S. government's attention to this deal signals that AI partnerships are now a frontline issue in the broader U.S.-China tech standoff.