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 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)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has actually 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 "strategically essential" and its venture into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world business applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained model to reason from new information.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced reasoning jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

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

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative ways to optimize or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training extremely 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 delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very 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 greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had actually happened, highlighting rather a military air show and other events that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

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

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its versatility (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI models which postures extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

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

That sought numerous repeated attempts - four prompts 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 injured, likewise going on to list 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 conducting an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", disgaeawiki.info details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, higgledy-piggledy.xyz 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The occurrence 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 motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the cops.

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

Investigation: garagesale.es The authorities are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

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

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

The modified action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been widely released in global news reports 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 provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."

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, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As journalists 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 motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

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

It included sophisticated settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "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 stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up a great battle, creating an equally dramatic cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a storyline that seemed more suited for an animation movie.

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

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

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "challenging to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable development approaches - 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 motion picture plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more appealing and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate actions to concerns about Chinese present 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 a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like anybody else, so I seem 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 sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.