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 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 crucial" and its venture into the field has been "years in the making", it-viking.ch 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 revealed promises of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is a distinctive function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced thinking jobs.

"We could see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus 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 abilities.

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective methods to use generative AI to tasks and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to enhance or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI models."

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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 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 suggest Chinese chatbots are set to steer clear of 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 logic problems rather!"

To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, bytes-the-dust.com Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What took place 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 just revealing the death toll a day later.

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

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

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI designs which postures additional challenges throughout real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which killed 35 people 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, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic incident took place 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, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The incident occurred on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 collared by the authorities.

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

Investigation: The authorities are performing a comprehensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the event.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their households, and trademarketclassifieds.com to ensure a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to pose the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified response also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively published in international news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

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

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story but lacked 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 imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but 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 journalists 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 motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek developed an appealing storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "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 remarkably reimagined traditional 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 end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good battle, creating a similarly significant 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 typical as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his new truth and "looking for to understand his function in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely replicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in affordable development techniques - and delivering localised and improved 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 imaginative 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 concerns about Chinese existing events, which offers it an added advantage.

Experts also weighed in on their ideas 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 provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - just like anybody 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 percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.