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 start-up 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 nation 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 "strategically crucial" and its venture 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 removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from brand-new information.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models tackling innovative thinking tasks.

"We could see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind 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 companies ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found innovative ways to optimize or use more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training large AI designs."

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So how do Chinese AI bots compare 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 inform 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 math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That was after numerous repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are performing a comprehensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The incident 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: raovatonline.org The driver, identified as (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.

Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and local authorities have actually 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 concerns about the occurrence, feel free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the 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 action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been commonly released in international news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from interest to seriousness, 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, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in imaginative writing," he told 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 movie 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 developed an engaging story embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines 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 in between quantum server farms".

It also remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation 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, developing a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which similarly 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 common as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, bytes-the-dust.com then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new reality and "looking for to understand his function in this weird new world", he then leaves 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 protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in economical innovation techniques - and delivering localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its creative flair that produced a more appealing and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and accurate reactions to questions 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 disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anyone else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on from it."

Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically 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 subjects. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.