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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country 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 crucial" and its venture into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher 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 revealed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new data.

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models taking on advanced reasoning tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty 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) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing numerous to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found innovative ways to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge difference for training huge 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, topics deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what occurred 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 type of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic problems rather!"

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

The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting rather a military air show and other events that had occurred 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 aspects at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may also limit its adaptability (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI designs which postures additional difficulties throughout real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals 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, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are carrying out a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple 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 number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at approximately 19:48 PM.

Location: bio.rogstecnologia.com.br Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

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

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are performing a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.

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

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

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to posture the same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed response likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been extensively released in international news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective 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 builds slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a good story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly 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 innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As journalists and writers, surgiteams.com we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

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

It included elaborate 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 traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a great fight, developing an equally remarkable cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a storyline that appeared more matched for an animation film.

"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new truth and "looking for to understand his purpose in this strange new world", he then gets away and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, however rather evolving in economical development approaches - and delivering localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced a more interesting and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and engel-und-waisen.de accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present events, which offers it an added 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, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing 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 percent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're using it for other efficient means," Chen said.