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.

Qwen2.5-Max chatbot, Chinese start-up 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 nation into a tech superpower has actually 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 crucial" and its venture into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed promises of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up firms might have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he includes.

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The "focus on expense advantage" is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs dealing with innovative reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to tasks and develop more innovative items beyond chatbots.

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

"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative ways to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training extremely big 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 internet so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what took place 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 concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had happened, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of practical constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its adaptability (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI models which postures extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

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

That sought multiple duplicated attempts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and forum.pinoo.com.tr age, as well as casualties.

However, it wrote that "the police are carrying out an extensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, hb9lc.org male, 62 years of ages) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial 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 resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The motorist, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the authorities.

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

Investigation: The authorities are carrying out an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event.

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, feel totally free to ask.

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

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

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

"DeepSeek-R1 used 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 builds slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

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 innovative writing," he informed CNA.

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As journalists and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a great battle, developing a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise 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 misconceptions."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a storyline that seemed more suited for an animation movie.

"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study center 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 purpose in this unusual new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, 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 "challenging to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply replicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-effective innovation techniques - and providing 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 creative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present events, which offers it an included benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

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

"When offered a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - similar to 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, particularly 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 using it for other productive ways," Chen said.