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)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags 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 ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically important" and its venture into the field has actually 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 promises of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research and developments, he adds.

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The "emphasis on cost advantage" is a distinctive function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from new data.

2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs dealing with sophisticated thinking tasks.

"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more sophisticated items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, systemcheck-wiki.de an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing numerous to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative ways to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training large 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 sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to avoid domestic politics.

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

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

The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may also limit its versatility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which poses extra difficulties throughout real-world release."

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

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

It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, also 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 wrote that "the police are performing a thorough investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: setiathome.berkeley.edu On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous 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, leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the essential 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 classificados.diariodovale.com.br 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was collared by the authorities.

Response: The quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This event was commonly reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, feel free to ask.

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

The transformed response also raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops slowly 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, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out 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 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 had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot set 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 story set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 battle, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline 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 guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to understand his purpose in this odd new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in affordable innovation techniques - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its creative 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, provides accurate and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese present events, which provides it an added benefit.

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

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

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anybody 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, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.