The Trump administration and congressional officials have raised concerns about a deal to put a Chinese firm’s artificial intelligence on iPhones. 

Apple believes the success of the iPhone depends on the availability of new AI features. But tensions between Washington and Beijing may cripple the tech giant’s plans to deliver AI in its second-most-important market, China. 

In recent months, the White House and congressional officials have been scrutinising Apple’s plan to strike a deal with Alibaba to make the Chinese company’s AI available on iPhones in China, three sources said. They are concerned that the deal would help a Chinese company improve its AI abilities, broaden the reach of Chinese chatbots with censorship limits and deepen Apple’s exposure to Beijing laws over censorship and data sharing. 

The scrutiny is the latest example of the challenges that Apple has run into as it tries to sustain its businesses in the US and China. Three years ago, the US government succeeded in pressuring Apple to abandon a deal to buy memory chips from a Chinese supplier, YMTC. More recently, the firm has been challenged by US tariffs on Chinese-made products like the iPhone, threatening to cut into the company’s profits.