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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, surgiteams.com Chinese start-up 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 country 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 "tactically important" and its venture into the field has 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed promises of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.

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The "emphasis on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative thinking tasks.

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

AGI refers to 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 innovative and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key difficulty 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 ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found imaginative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big 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 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 disputes 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 type 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 same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

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

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

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

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which poses extra difficulties during real-world implementation."

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

That was after multiple repeated efforts - four prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, also 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 carrying out an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

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

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, archmageriseswiki.com in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

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

Response: wiki.whenparked.com The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused considerable public issue. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to position the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified response also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been commonly released in international report 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 provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant 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 but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."

Opinions, however, differ.

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

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed 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 timeless Chinese folklore legendary, 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 fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It also brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation 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, developing an equally significant cyberpunk story which similarly 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The film 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 brand-new reality and "seeking to understand his function in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and raovatonline.org satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply replicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-effective innovation techniques - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its creative flair that made for a more appealing and creative narrative 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 concerns about Chinese existing events, which provides it an added advantage.

Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts 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, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - simply like anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."

Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.