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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 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 essential" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", ratemywifey.com 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 sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller players like start-up firms could have functions to play in AI research and developments, he adds.

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

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious 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, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for Chinese designers, noted 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 many to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered creative methods to enhance or use more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training really large AI designs."

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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 considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it ought to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set 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 concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic problems rather!"

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

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had actually happened, systemcheck-wiki.de highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales as well as 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 systems and has actually limited access to innovative hardware which can affect how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

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

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

That sought several duplicated attempts - four prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, 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 wrote that "the cops are carrying out a thorough investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable variety 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 resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The police responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are conducting a thorough investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the occurrence.

This event was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the incident.

If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.

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

The transformed response also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, hb9lc.org ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been commonly published in global report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological 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 seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unexpected 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, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative 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 imaginative writing," he informed 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 film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, 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 skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".

It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent battle, creating an equally significant cyberpunk storyline 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

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

"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study center situated 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 new world", he then gets away and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a definitive statement" 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 underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical innovation techniques - 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 film plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more interesting 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 questions about Chinese present occasions, which gives it an added advantage.

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," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anybody else, so I seem 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 per cent of individuals 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.