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 start-up 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 crucial" and its foray into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed promises of real-world company applications, archmageriseswiki.com Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, systemcheck-wiki.de he includes.

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

2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models dealing with advanced thinking tasks.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical ways to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial 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 business ... forcing numerous to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found innovative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training really big AI designs."

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

WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest 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 type of concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues rather!"

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

The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which poses additional difficulties throughout real-world implementation."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.

That was after several duplicated attempts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, 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 wrote that "the authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now dated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple 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, leading to a substantial number 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 motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the police.

Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This event was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to pose the exact same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified reaction also raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unexpected 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 rich story with a more significant twist".

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

Opinions, though, 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 jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in imaginative writing," he informed CNA.

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As reporters and writers, 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 set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting story embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

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

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

ChatGPT set up an excellent battle, coming up with an equally significant cyberpunk story 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 typical as ancient myths."

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

"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to understand his function in this odd brand-new world", he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in affordable innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced a more engaging and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and factual reactions to questions about Chinese current 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 drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anyone else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on 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 percent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.