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 game after DeepSeek's success.

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

This audio is created by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping's goal and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

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

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research and developments, he includes.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new data.

2025 might likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models taking on innovative thinking tasks.

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

AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and establish more sophisticated items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key difficulty for Chinese developers, kept in mind 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 ... requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered imaginative ways to enhance or use more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training large AI models."

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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, topics deemed delicate by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured 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 logic problems rather!"

To further test for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The vehicle attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

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

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may also limit its adaptability (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI models which poses extra challenges during real-world deployment."

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

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

It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others injured, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The occurrence occurred on November 11, 2024, at roughly 19:48 PM.

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

Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The police reacted rapidly to the scene, and bytes-the-dust.com emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are carrying out a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident.

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and local authorities have actually been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the incident.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to present the very same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The altered action also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been widely published in global news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a good story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.

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

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

It included elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It likewise remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good fight, coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring 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 myths."

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

"The motion picture begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird new world", wavedream.wiki he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, mediawiki.hcah.in navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "hard to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, however rather developing in affordable innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an included advantage.

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

"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like 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, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other efficient methods," Chen said.