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

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 2 min read 100% complete by Wency ChenFebruary 2, 2026 at 09:45 AM

AI Summary

short article 2 min

Alibaba is investing 3 billion yuan ($432 million) in a Spring Festival campaign to promote its AI app, Qwen, across its ecosystem, including Taobao, Shangou, Fliggy, and other platforms. The campaign, launching February 6th, will offer incentives like free orders and cash-filled red packets to encourage users to experience AI-driven services. This move follows similar campaigns by competitors like Tencent and Baidu, who are investing heavily to promote their own AI apps during the Spring Festival, a crucial marketing period in China. ByteDance has also secured an AI partnership with CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. These companies are vying for mass-market adoption of their AI technology by leveraging the high-spending holiday season.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

China Central Television 50% Shangou 50% Fliggy 50% Damai 50% Amap 50% Freshippo 50% ByteDance 60% Taobao 60% Tencent Holdings ×270% Baidu ×270% Qwen ×280% Alibaba Group Holding ×490%

Keywords

artificial intelligence 90% ai app 80% spring festival 80% giveaway 70% qwen 70% red packet 60% marketing 60% consumer-facing 50% e-commerce 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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artificial intelligence ai app spring festival giveaway qwen red packet marketing consumer-facing e-commerce

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