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 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'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has 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 "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 accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "focus on cost advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced reasoning jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese developers, 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 companies ... requiring lots of to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training extremely 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, subjects deemed 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 took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend 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 kind of question yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic issues rather!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like singles' 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 along with "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which postures extra obstacles during real-world release."

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

That was after multiple repeated efforts - 4 prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, garagesale.es likewise 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 authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the motives and situations surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible incident took place 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, resulting in a significant 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 chauffeur, forum.batman.gainedge.org recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the cops.

Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

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

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

The altered reaction likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 provided 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 delivered a story that builds slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

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

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in imaginative writing," he told 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 basic sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

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

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

It also remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and gratisafhalen.be Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good fight, coming up with a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this strange brand-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 mission, browsing the of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely replicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in economical development techniques - and delivering localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more interesting 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 accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present events, which provides it an included advantage.

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

"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on from it."

Independent Beijing-based specialist Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, especially for Chinese users.

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