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 created by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping's objective and China has its sights on ending up being 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 guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from new information.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs dealing with advanced thinking jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered imaginative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training extremely large 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 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 inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest 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 kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had actually occurred in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how quickly 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 information might likewise restrict its adaptability (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 designs which postures additional obstacles during real-world release."

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

That wanted numerous repeated efforts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated 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, forum.batman.gainedge.org it wrote that "the cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at around 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 chauffeur, surgiteams.com identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the authorities.

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

Investigation: The authorities are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.

If you require more detailed details or have specific questions about the incident, feel complimentary to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been widely released in international report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the ability of AI apps to deliver structured and wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de even "emotionally rich" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist".

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

Opinions, though, differ.

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

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

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As journalists and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film 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 developed an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

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

It also brilliantly reimagined standard 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 installed a good fight, creating a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the legendary 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 obstacle - delivering a story that appeared more matched for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in affordable 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 motion picture plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that produced a more engaging and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese existing events, which gives it an included benefit.

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

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

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply like anyone else, so I seem 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, particularly for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other productive methods," Chen said.