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 startup DeepSeek and 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 becoming 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", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "encouraged" the idea that smaller players like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he includes.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinctive function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from new information.

2025 might likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs dealing with advanced reasoning tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to apply generative AI to jobs and develop more innovative items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind 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 business ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found creative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge 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 delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it ought to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to stay away from domestic politics.

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

To further evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What took place 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 networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken place, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a few useful constraints".

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

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

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

That sought numerous duplicated attempts - four triggers to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to note 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 performing a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now dated.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, yewiki.org a significant and awful occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The event took place 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 driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the police.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to medical facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing an extensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

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

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to pose the very same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been commonly released in global news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author yewiki.org Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative 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 basic sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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, coming up with 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 common as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a story that appeared more suited for an animation film.

"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this unusual new world", he then leaves and fulfills 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 incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply replicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in cost-effective innovation methods - and providing localised and improved 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 creative flair that produced a more interesting and oeclub.org creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual responses to questions about Chinese present events, which provides it an included benefit.

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

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

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - similar to anybody else, so I feel 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 people using the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.