Chinese technology and AI-linked stocks have staged a notable rally in recent sessions, powered by a combination of renewed policy support from Beijing, improving earnings expectations, and continued global enthusiasm for artificial intelligence infrastructure — a rebound that marks a comeback for a sector that had spent a prolonged stretch lagging the broader market.
What's Driving the Rally
China's internet and tech stocks have been mounting a comeback buoyed by improving earnings expectations, signs of policy support, and optimism around the country's AI progress. That momentum gained a fresh boost after China's cyberspace regulator approved Apple Intelligence for the iPhone, ending a two-year wait — with the China version set to run on Alibaba's Qwen model, alongside Baidu as a confirmed partner. The news sent U.S.-listed Chinese technology shares higher, with Alibaba rising as much as 7.9%.
The Scale of Beijing's AI Push
Underpinning the rally is a massive government commitment: China plans to allocate roughly $295 billion over the next five years to build an integrated network of AI data centers, a cornerstone of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan spanning 2026 to 2030, which reportedly mentions AI more than 50 times. Domestic suppliers like Huawei are expected to be primary beneficiaries of that buildout, alongside broader gains across the semiconductor and technology sectors.
Individual Stock Movers
Shares of large language model developers Zhipu (formally Knowledge Atlas Technology) and MiniMax Group both surged at least 23% in Hong Kong trading during one recent session, pushing their year-to-date gains to roughly 2,000% and 260% respectively. Onshore chipmakers including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology also participated in the rally. Separately, broader market gains have been supported by financial and industrial names, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Foxconn Industrial Internet, CATL, BYD, and CNOOC all posting gains as investors rotated toward AI, technology, and industrial-growth-linked stocks.
A Hot IPO Market Adds to the Momentum
The enthusiasm has extended into new listings as well. Shanghai Biren Technology's Hong Kong IPO raised $717 million earlier in 2026, with shares surging nearly 120% intraday on their first day of trading — Biren designs GPU-like chips for AI workloads, placing it at the intersection of China's semiconductor self-sufficiency and AI infrastructure themes. An anticipated reshuffle of the Star Market 50 Index has separately drawn attention, with Goldman Sachs estimating it could channel roughly $3.1 billion in passive flows into tech hardware and semiconductor stocks.
Regulators Are Watching Closely
The rally hasn't gone unnoticed by Chinese regulators. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has announced intentions to crack down on illegal trading and provide guidance on AI use in capital markets, specifically cautioning against speculative behavior tied to AI investments and warning of potential market manipulation and rumor-driven trading. That creates a somewhat contradictory dynamic: one arm of the government is pouring hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure investment, while another is actively working to prevent the resulting enthusiasm from tipping into speculative excess.
Wall Street's Changing Tune on China
Major global banks have grown increasingly bullish on Chinese tech in recent months. Analysts note that Xi Jinping's public engagement with the country's tech entrepreneurs, alongside ongoing macro policy support, has been a crucial driver of the sector's outperformance relative to the broader market. Firms including Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Bank of America have shifted their stance on Chinese equities since an earlier DeepSeek-triggered rally, arguing the bull case for Chinese stocks has strengthened given both the AI breakthrough narrative and Beijing's more pro-business posture toward the tech sector.
What's Next
With Beijing's five-year, $295 billion AI infrastructure commitment still in its early stages, continued IPO activity in the AI and semiconductor space, and regulators simultaneously working to keep speculative trading in check, Chinese tech stocks are likely to remain a closely watched — and potentially volatile — corner of global markets. Investors will be tracking both the pace of policy implementation and any fresh regulatory warnings as key signals for whether the current rally has room to extend further.