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)

This audio is produced 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 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 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "urged" the idea that smaller players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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

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

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

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

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

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key hurdle 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found innovative methods to enhance or use more basic hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction for training large 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, topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to guide clear of domestic politics.

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

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

The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a show and other events that had taken place 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 along with "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI models which positions extra difficulties throughout real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left lots of others injured, also going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are carrying out an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

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

Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, at around 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 motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the police.

Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the event.

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

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

The transformed action also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and wiki.dulovic.tech even "emotionally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

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

Opinions, however, 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 tasks, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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

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

It included elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, developing a similarly dramatic cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".

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

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

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

Realising his new reality and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this odd brand-new world", he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a definitive 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 highlights how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-effective development methods - and delivering localised and enhanced results.

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 produced 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, offers precise and factual actions to concerns about Chinese existing events, which provides it an included benefit.

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

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

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - just like anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on from it."

Independent Beijing-based expert 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 subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient means," Chen said.