SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China shares rose on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in artificial intelligence $(AI)$-related firms that continued to lift market sentiment, while Hong Kong equities slipped as investors booked profits on some tech stocks.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 climbed 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC gained 0.5%. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng .HSI fell 0.3%.

** Chinese tech stocks .CSIASITI and AI-related shares .CSI930713 led gains onshore, up 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively.

** The case for buying Chinese stocks, particularly tech shares, is improving, perhaps enough to tempt back long-term investors, investment banks said, noting the emergence of AI startup DeepSeek and a meeting between Xi Jinping and business leaders in the sector.

** The Hang Seng Index has surged 14% year-to-date, while the tech index has soared 27%, positioning the Hong Kong market as one of the best performers this year.

** Given the recent surge, selling at the open wouldn't be unexpected, said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. However, sentiment towards China's asset markets is shifting positively, justifying the rally, with any pullbacks likely to be minor, Weston added.

** Alibaba 9988.HK and Baidu 9888.HK shed 1.2% and 2.8%, respectively.

** Meanwhile, chip stocks saw a surge, with China's largest chipmaker SMIC 0981.HK jumping more than 6% to a record high and Hua Hong Semiconductor 1347.HK soaring nearly 18%.

** China's new home prices stalled month-on-month in January, official data showed on Wednesday. Onshore property shares .CSI000952 gained 0.5%.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Additional Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

((li.gu@tr.com))