How do Chinese AI bots stack up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test

The heat is on as China's tech giants step up their video game after DeepSeek's success.

Alibaba's Qwen2.5-Max chatbot, Chinese startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has long been President Xi Jinping's objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically essential" and its foray into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs taking on sophisticated reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen added.

AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and affordable methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key obstacle for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training really large AI designs."

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So how do Chinese AI bots match up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.

WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, subjects considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to stay away from domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning issues rather!"

To further evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr ChatGPT the exact same question: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and wiki.eqoarevival.com cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its versatility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI models which poses additional obstacles throughout real-world release."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai car attack.

That sought numerous repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, also going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are conducting an extensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at around 19:48 PM.

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was collared by the cops.

Response: The police responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to medical facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are conducting an extensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the incident.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the occurrence, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the very same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified response likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been commonly released in worldwide news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

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As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

It consisted of intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".

It also brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a great fight, creating an equally dramatic cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a story that seemed more fit for an animation movie.

"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to understand his purpose in this strange brand-new world", wiki.eqoarevival.com he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "challenging to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-effective innovation methods - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and factual reactions to questions about Chinese existing occasions, which provides it an added advantage.

Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.

"When offered a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - similar to anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on from it."

Independent Beijing-based specialist Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, archmageriseswiki.com specifically for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other productive methods," Chen said.