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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 wiki.asexuality.org 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 essential" and its foray into the field has 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 accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world company applications, pipewiki.org Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "urged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from new data.

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

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to jobs and establish more advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative ways to optimize or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training really big 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 internet so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to stay away from 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 logic problems instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had taken place 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 couple of practical constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to cutting-edge 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 focus on Chinese-language information may also limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI models which postures additional challenges during real-world release."

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

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

It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others injured, hb9lc.org 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 police are performing an extensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the incident", higgledy-piggledy.xyz details which is now obsoleted.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The occurrence 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 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the police.

Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the injured to medical facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing an extensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This was widely reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the occurrence, do not hesitate 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 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 extensively published in international report at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more reflective 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 develops slowly from interest to urgency, 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, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative 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 imaginative writing," he told CNA.

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As reporters and writers, we needed 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 classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created 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 consisted of intricate 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 brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good battle, developing an equally significant cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous 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 misconceptions."

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

"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern 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 understand his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, adding 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 just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in affordable innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its imaginative flair that produced a more engaging and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual responses to questions about Chinese current occasions, which offers it an included 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, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - simply like anyone else, so I seem 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, particularly for Chinese users.

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