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)

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Bong Xin Ying

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 ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically essential" and its venture into the field has actually 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 service applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from new information.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI models taking on sophisticated reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential difficulty for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, it-viking.ch 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 ... requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI designs."

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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 delicate by the state are censored on the web so it should come as no 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 set 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 rather!"

To even more test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "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 networks - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which poses extra obstacles during real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others hurt, also going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are performing a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The occurrence occurred on November 11, 2024, 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 motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the cops.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are conducting a comprehensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event.

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

If you require more detailed details or have specific questions about the occurrence, feel totally free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to present the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The altered response also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops 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 substantial twist".

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

Opinions, though, differ.

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

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

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As reporters and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi movie 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 came up with an appealing storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

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

It likewise remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, developing a similarly dramatic cyberpunk storyline 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a story that appeared more fit for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this unusual new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "challenging to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in cost-efficient innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and factual responses to concerns about Chinese present events, which gives it an added advantage.

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

"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing 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 per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.