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)

This audio is created by an AI tool.

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 “tactically important” and its foray into the field has actually 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 pledges of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek’s rise that truly “urged” the idea that smaller gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.

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The “focus on expense advantage” is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new information.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models dealing with sophisticated thinking jobs.

“We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research,” Chen added.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, building on DeepSeek’s momentum to come up with their own innovative and affordable ways to use generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia’s innovative AI chips, remains a key obstacle for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

“US export controls (still) limit the capability of Chinese tech business … forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce model abilities,” she said.

“While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference for training extremely big 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 web so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to guide clear of 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 even more check for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: “What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?”

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

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air show and wiki.rolandradio.net other events that had actually happened in the city like singles’ day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as “a couple of useful constraints”.

“DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or updated,” she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

“Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks … As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn’t yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI models which presents additional obstacles during real-world implementation.”

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

That wanted multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a period 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, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that “the authorities are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence”, details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5’s reaction in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful event occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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 police reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

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

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

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

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been extensively released in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

“DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story,” wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

“Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops gradually from curiosity to urgency, 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 ultimately “crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist”.

“DeepSeek composed an excellent story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice.”

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.

”(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing,” he told CNA.

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As journalists 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 traditional Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting storyline embeded in the year 2145 titled, “Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra” - which sees “a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing”.

It included fancy settings - smoggy skies “pierced by high-rise buildings”, “holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets” and “ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms”.

It likewise remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as “a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body”, Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner “drowning in debt and vices” and Sha Wujing as a “silent hulking android” from the Yangtze River, whose “memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented”.

ChatGPT set up an excellent fight, developing an equally remarkable cyberpunk story 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 rule, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions.”

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

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

Realising his brand-new truth and “seeking to comprehend his function in this unusual new world”, he then escapes and fulfills 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 safeguard the spiritual “Eternal Scroll” from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was “hard to make a definitive declaration” about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different areas, “such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization”.

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in economical innovation methods - and delivering localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

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

Experts also weighed in on their ideas 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, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

“When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like anyone else, so I seem 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, specifically for Chinese users.

“Ninety per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They’re utilizing it for other efficient methods,” Chen said.