The Trump administration and congressional officials are in the process of evaluating a partnership between Apple and Alibaba that would incorporate AI features propelled by Alibaba into iPhones sold in China.

The New York Times reports that White House officials and members of the House Select Committee on China have directly questioned Apple executives about the deal.

This has come with questions centered on the data that would be shared with Alibaba and whether the company was making any commitments to Chinese regulators.

The sources cited in the report are anonymous. According to reports, the executives were unable to respond to the majority of the inquiries.

In a statement, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, referred to Alibaba as “a poster child for the Chinese Communist Party’s military-civil fusion strategy”.

US House of Representatives

He expressed his “extremely disturbing” concern that Apple had “not been transparent about its agreement.”

Alibaba has been the sole entity to publicly confirm the agreement, as opposed to Apple.

This is not the sole obstacle that the iPhone manufacturer encounters in the context of the ongoing tensions between the United States and China.

The company is also subject to tariffs that are inconsistently implemented.