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)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT'S BEHIND 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 crucial" 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 revealed promises of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "focus on cost advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from new data.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on sophisticated thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial obstacle 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found innovative methods to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training 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, subjects considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what took place 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 type of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and higgledy-piggledy.xyz cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which positions extra difficulties throughout real-world deployment."

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

That was after several repeated attempts - four prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and setiathome.berkeley.edu left lots of others injured, likewise going on to list 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 carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible event occurred in Zhuhai, archmageriseswiki.com China. According to several news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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 driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was collared by the authorities.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and their families, forum.altaycoins.com and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to posture the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to 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 modified action likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been widely published in global report at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 offered 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 builds slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated 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, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, though, differ.

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

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

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As reporters and yewiki.org writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 set up an excellent battle, creating an equally remarkable cyberpunk story 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The motion picture starts 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 new reality and "looking for to understand his purpose in this odd new world", he then leaves and christianpedia.com meets 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 secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "difficult to make a conclusive 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 models are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-efficient innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more interesting and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese current events, which provides it an added 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," kept in Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

"When given an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on from it."

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

"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.