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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, Chinese start-up DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

This audio is produced 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 goal and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically crucial" and its foray into the field has 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained design to reason from new data.

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

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical ways to apply generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential difficulty 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) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered imaginative methods to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training very 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 considered sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what took place 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 kind of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had taken place, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had taken place 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 factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI models which presents additional obstacles during real-world deployment."

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

That wanted several duplicated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, also going on to like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a comprehensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The occurrence happened on November 11, 2024, raovatonline.org at approximately 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 chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the authorities.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing a comprehensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The government and regional authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the occurrence, feel complimentary to ask.

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

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

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been extensively released in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from curiosity to seriousness, 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 wrote a good story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.

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As reporters and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi motion picture plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

It consisted of intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float 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 taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 a great fight, creating a similarly dramatic cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous 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 obstacle - providing a storyline that seemed more matched for an animation film.

"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this unusual brand-new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, navigating 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 declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in affordable development approaches - and providing localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its imaginative flair that made for a more engaging and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers accurate and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese current events, which provides it an added advantage.

Experts likewise 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, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I seem 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, especially for Chinese users.

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