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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 startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually 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 "strategically important" and its foray into the field has actually 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models dealing with sophisticated thinking jobs.

"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research study," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more innovative items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial obstacle 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 business ... requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found innovative methods to enhance or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge 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, subjects considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it ought to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to stay away from domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this type of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning problems instead!"

To even more evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its versatility (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which positions extra difficulties throughout real-world implementation."

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

That wanted multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others injured, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a thorough investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, wiki.eqoarevival.com leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial 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 led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the police.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are conducting an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The government and local authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have particular questions about the occurrence, feel free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to position the exact same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively released in global news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs gradually from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".

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

Opinions, though, differ.

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

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

Related:

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As journalists and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

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

It included sophisticated 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 "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken 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 great battle, creating a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".

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

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a story that appeared more matched for an animation film.

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

Realising his new truth and "seeking to understand his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-effective innovation techniques - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

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

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

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

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."

Independent Beijing-based consultant 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 using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other efficient means," Chen said.