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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 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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

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

China views AI as being "strategically important" and its venture 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 removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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The "focus on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs tackling advanced reasoning jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to use generative AI to jobs and develop more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech business ... forcing numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found creative methods to optimize or use more standard hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training huge 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, topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it ought to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to avoid 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

To even more evaluate for accuracy 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 arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of useful constraints".

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might also limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which postures additional obstacles during real-world deployment."

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

That wanted multiple repeated attempts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, also 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 police are carrying out a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful event occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The incident happened 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 chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the cops.

Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event.

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the incident.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to posture the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers 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, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story but lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option."

Opinions, though, vary.

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

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

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

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

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

It also remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good fight, coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous 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 obstacle - delivering a story that seemed more suited for an animation film.

"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study center 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 weird new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed 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 reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-effective innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its imaginative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese current occasions, which gives it an added benefit.

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

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

"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - simply like anyone else, so I feel 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, particularly for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other productive means," Chen said.