(Yicai) Feb. 5 -- Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, met the project team in charge of the Qwen artificial intelligence assistant before the start of its Lunar New Year push, adding to the growing tension surrounding the upcoming AI battle between Chinese tech giants.

Ma visited Alibaba's Qwen project office late yesterday, accompanied by the Hangzhou-based firm's partner Shao Xiaofeng, according to photos posted online by employees on the same day, on which the words "Qwen C-end Business Group" could be seen in the background.

The Qwen C-end BG was formed last December by integrating Alibaba's intelligent information and intelligent interconnection businesses. Under the direct leadership of Vice President Wu Jia, it manages Qwen, the AI consumer app-powered super workbench Quark, and other products.

The primary goal of the Qwen Chinese New Year promotion campaign is to provide users with an excellent experience and attract them to use the app, Wu noted, adding that Alibaba believes AI will bring many new life services in the future.

Alibaba has woven Qwen throughout its ecosystem, integrating services such as Taobao, Alipay, Tmall Flash Buy, Fliggy, Amap, Youku, and Freshippo. With a single command, users can order food, book flights, shop, stream video content, and receive travel guidance, positioning the AI assistant as a unified front end for Alibaba's core businesses.

On Feb. 3, Qwen announced a CNY3 billion (USD420 million) subsidy campaign to drive downloads and encourage use of its AI-powered shopping features over the Chinese New Year. In addition, it will launch its Spring Festival Treat Plan tomorrow, aiming to attract more consumers to use the AI shopping function by offering free orders.

Previously, Qwen said it will exclusively sponsor and bring AI-generated videos, AI image recognition, AI questions and answers, and other capabilities to the Lunar New Year gala broadcasts of the provincial satellite television stations in Shanghai, as well as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Henan provinces. Audience members will be able to interact with the app, which will distribute cash red envelopes to participants.

Other tech giants are also ramping up promotion of their AI assistants during the Lunar New Year holiday period, known as the Spring Festival in China, which this year runs from Feb. 15 to 23.

ByteDance's cloud computing unit Volcano Engine has become the exclusive AI cloud partner for China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala, introducing its Doubao assistant to hundreds of millions of viewers. Baidu has announced plans to distribute CNY500 million (USD71.9 million) to users of its AI assistant, while Tencent Holdings has already launched a CNY1 billion (USD144 million) red envelope campaign for its Yuanbao assistant.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev