APPLE is facing an uphill battle to release its own artificial intelligence models for iPhones and other products in China, reports London's Financial Times.

Already Beijing has warned the US tech giant that foreign companies will confront a "difficult and long process" to win approval unless they partner with local groups.

Apple chief Tim Cook arrived in China on Monday for his third visit of the year as the company tries to navigate the country's complex regulatory regime and bring its Apple Intelligence to devices sold in the country.

In recent months, the US group has been holding talks with Chinese tech companies to help power Apple Intelligence in the country. Last month it began rolling out the suite of AI features in the US on iPhones and other devices.

Apple has also considered running its own large language models in China, according to two people familiar with the matter.