Ge Long Hui·2026-02-16 16:47Core Insights - The 2026 Spring Festival marks a pivotal moment for China's AI industry, transitioning from technical experimentation to widespread public adoption [1][5] - Major tech companies like Alibaba and ByteDance have emerged as leaders in this competitive landscape, showcasing differentiated strategies and impressive operational metrics [1][5] Industry Overview - The Spring Festival AI competition has shifted from merely attracting users to cultivating habits and implementing practical applications, with Alibaba and ByteDance leading the way [5][6] - The competition has resulted in a dual development path for China's AI industry: Alibaba focuses on consumer-oriented applications, while ByteDance emphasizes content creation and innovation [6][18] Alibaba's Performance - Alibaba's Qwen 3.5-Plus model was released on New Year's Eve, achieving the status of the world's strongest open-source model, comparable to Gemini 3 Pro [1][8] - During the Spring Festival, over 1.3 billion AI-assisted transactions were completed, with users making 50 billion requests to the Qwen app, demonstrating its widespread adoption [1][5][12] Technological Breakthroughs - The Qwen 3.5-Plus model features a total of 397 billion parameters, with a significant performance improvement over previous models, achieving a 19-fold increase in inference throughput [10][11] - The model's API pricing is significantly lower than competitors, at 0.8 yuan per million tokens, making it more accessible for developers [10][11] Ecosystem Integration - Alibaba's extensive ecosystem, including platforms like Taobao and Alipay, enables seamless integration of AI into everyday tasks, enhancing user experience and driving rapid habit formation [11][15] - The Spring Festival saw a 372-fold increase in AI-assisted movie ticket purchases, highlighting the model's effectiveness in real-world applications [11][12] Competitive Landscape - The emergence of Alibaba and ByteDance as "dual kings" in the AI sector signifies a shift in China's AI industry towards original exploration, moving away from merely following Silicon Valley [18][19] - The competition between these two companies fosters a healthy industry environment, encouraging innovation and diverse development paths [18][19]