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Qwen

Qwen
Qwen is a multipurpose artificial intelligence consumer app created by Alibaba as a personal AI assistant for professional and personal use, and powered by the Alibaba Cloud software. Its functionality includes research, image generation and slide generation. Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud computing unit of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Illustration by Victor Sanjinez
Artificial intelligence

Competition or ‘co-opetition’: how is convergence shaping Sino-US AI race?

Speech by CEO of Chinese AI start-up at Nvidia event in US highlights symbiotic nature of tech relationship despite geopolitical tensions.

Artificial intelligence

What is ‘tokenomics’ and how would China gain the edge in an AI era?

China trade

China’s AI edge built on power grid, open-source models: Alibaba’s Joe Tsai

Artificial intelligence

Preview of Alibaba’s top AI model leads Chinese peers, lags US rivals

Qwen3.5-Max-Preview enters a global ranking at 15th, behind models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.

A woman walks past the Alibaba logo on its building in Xuhui Binjiang Park, also known as AI Park, in Shanghai, on March 19, 2026. Photo: EPA
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba reshuffles AI units into a new ‘Token Hub’ group, led by CEO Eddie Wu

Intended to increase AI coordination, the group will sit alongside Alibaba Cloud and the company’s e-commerce divisions.

Artificial intelligence

China’s DeepSeek teams with Tencent, HKU on AI tool to sharpen 3D design

Open-source Pointer-CAD framework, built on Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 model, enhances accuracy and efficiency in computer-aided design: researchers.

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Two Sessions 2026

China’s eastern, southern economic powerhouses vie for innovation leadership

Officials from Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area outline ambitions after Xi Jinping calls on provincial economies to drive development.

Passengers pass a mural in the arrivals hall of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, in south China’s Guangdong province, on February 23, 2026. Photo: Xinhua
Alibaba

Alibaba task force, led by CEO Eddie Wu, will focus on AI model development

Wu affirmed in his letter that Alibaba would ‘uphold our open-source model strategy’ and scale up investment in AI.

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba recruits Google DeepMind contributor to join Qwen AI team: sources

Zhou Hao to join as head of post-training research, sources say, as technical lead Lin Junyang departs in reshuffle.

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China’s private sector

Will users stick around after China’s US$1 billion AI marketing battle?

Vouchers, red packets and sponsorships drove a surge in AI users over Chinese New Year, but now the tech giants face a retention test.

Red-packet battle: AI tech giants spent a collective US$1 billion on marketing this Chinese New Year. Photo: Getty Images
China-Middle East relations

Meet Habibi – the Chinese AI uniting 20 Arabic dialects in a Middle East first

Lead author says there are many differences between Arabic dialects and Modern Standard Arabic, which is used in official circumstances.

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Habibi, a model devised by a Chinese-led team, has “zero-shot” capability, meaning it can clone a dialect’s voice by using short reference audio, according to the researchers. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

China’s MiniMax, Moonshot top AI token use ranking, ending year of US dominance

AI hosting platform OpenRouter’s latest ranking shows high demand for Chinese open-source models following a series of new releases.

Artificial intelligence

AI apps soar in China as Lunar New Year giveaway battle boosts user growth

Tech firms score win as AI assistants become part of holiday consumption – from buying food and booking travel to planning entertainment.

Robotics

Opinion | Humans vs robots? China begs to disagree

As China embraces humanoid robots, policymakers and companies are expanding the scope of innovation and applications in daily life.

videocam
Robots dance for the Spring Festival Gala on train travelling from Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, to Beijing on February 13. Photo: Xinhua
Artificial intelligence

China’s tech giants pursue AI, semiconductor talent in US amid fierce rivalry

ByteDance, Baidu, Alibaba Cloud and MiniMax are among the firms now actively recruiting fresh talent in the US.

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Major Chinese technology companies are ramping up recruitment of artificial intelligence and semiconductor talent in key US tech hubs. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Global AI race heats up as Chinese tech giant releases new model

With multimodal capabilities and open weights, Qwen-3.5 signals Alibaba’s ambition to anchor the next phase of global AI deployment.

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Artificial intelligence

Humanoids go mainstream as China’s robotics champions appear at CCTV spectacle

ByteDance, Unitree, RedNote, Bilibili and Kuaishou among the firms involved in the unparalleled nationwide marketing opportunity.

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Artificial intelligence

Beijing warns tech giants to curb ‘involution’ amid AI giveaway war

Companies should ‘uphold a fair and competitive’ environment to ‘foster innovation and healthy development’, regulator says.

An advertisement for ByteDance’s cloud and AI service platform Volcano Engine and chatbot Doubao hangs in Beijing Capital International airport in Beijing on February 5, 2026. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Qwen tops 120 million orders in 6 days amid China’s AI shopping battle

Campaign has sparked a behavioural shift towards AI-powered shopping, which Alibaba says is becoming a more popular lifestyle choice.

ByteDance

ByteDance joins Chinese rivals offering freebies in bid to acquire AI app users

TikTok parent plans to give more than 100,000 tech products as gifts, as well as red packets through lucky draws on the Doubao app.

Artificial intelligence

Sweet surge: Qwen overtakes Yuanbao after Alibaba’s bubble tea campaign

More than 10 million free orders put Alibaba’s AI app in the spotlight amid a high-stakes battle for Spring Festival attention.

More than 10 million free orders were placed within nine hours of the campaign, overwhelming many stores in mainland China. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Red packet rumble: will Tencent’s cash giveaway work again in crowded AI market?

Analysts say strong competition from ByteDance, DeepSeek, Ant Group and Alibaba may prevent Tencent’s Yuanbao from repeating WeChat glory.

Tencent’s Yuanbao has launched a campaign that gives out cash through digital red packets. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s Qwen ramps up AI app race with Spring Festival giveaway blitz

Alibaba unveils US$432 million campaign to push mass-market adoption of its AI as rivalry with Tencent, Baidu and ByteDance intensifies.

Artificial intelligence

‘Teach our children well’: Jack Ma urges changes to China’s education in AI era

China’s educators must teach students to ask thousands of good questions, rather than give the same correct answer, Ma says.

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Artificial intelligence

China’s Alibaba, Moonshot claim latest AI models challenge OpenAI, Google

Alibaba says Qwen3-Max-Thinking is its ‘best model so far’, while Moonshot calls Kimi K2.5 the world’s most powerful open-source model.

The new models mark the first major Chinese releases this year. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

China’s Baidu merges key app businesses to drive consumer AI push

Merger of Wenku and Wangpan into a new AI unit comes as tech firms race to turn their services and apps into the next ‘super app’.

Baidu’s move marks one of its largest reorganisations in the past two years. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Baidu launches Ernie 5.0 as firm’s AI assistant users reach 200 million a month

The Beijing-based company’s most advanced AI model can process text, images, audio and video.

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s upgraded Qwen chatbot app receives warm consumer reception

Qwen’s upgrade transforms the chatbot into a virtual ‘life assistant’, making lives easier for hundreds of millions of consumers.

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