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)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has long been President Xi Jinping's goal 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 sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have functions to play in AI research and trademarketclassifieds.com developments, links.gtanet.com.br he adds.

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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinct function of AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from brand-new information.

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on innovative thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, pipewiki.org analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle 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 ... requiring lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative ways to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training large AI models."

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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 considered sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it ought to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to steer clear of 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 reasoning problems rather!"

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

The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later on.

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

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually restricted access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, engel-und-waisen.de pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise limit its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI designs which positions additional obstacles during real-world deployment."

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

That sought several duplicated attempts - 4 triggers to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it wrote that "the cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

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

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 old), was captured by the cops.

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

Investigation: The cops are performing a comprehensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This event was widely reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to supply support 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 event, do not hesitate to ask.

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

The modified response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver 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 constructs gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more significant twist".

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

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly 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 strongly as others in imaginative 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 film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an appealing storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

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

It likewise 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 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 put up a good fight, developing an equally significant cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".

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

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a story that seemed more matched for an animation film.

"The motion picture begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility located 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 unusual new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-efficient development approaches - and delivering localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more engaging and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese existing events, which offers it an added advantage.

Experts also 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 study firm Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply like anybody else, so I seem 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, yewiki.org particularly for Chinese users.

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