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

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping's objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically important" 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized players like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new data.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs taking on jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key 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) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative ways to enhance or use more basic hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training huge AI models."

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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 sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to guide clear of 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 reasoning issues rather!"

To even more test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very 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 heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later.

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

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

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may also limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which postures extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.

That was after multiple repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, likewise going on to note details like the date and hb9lc.org time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it wrote that "the authorities are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now dated.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The incident happened 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: The driver, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the cops.

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

Investigation: The authorities are conducting a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and local authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to posture the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified action also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a good story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen believes 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, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative 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 fundamental sci-fi film 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 developed an interesting story embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 a good fight, creating a similarly remarkable 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 common as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech 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 weird new world", he then leaves and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely replicating Western paradigms, it-viking.ch but rather developing 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 movie plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced 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, offers precise and accurate responses to questions about Chinese existing occasions, which offers it an added advantage.

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

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

"When provided an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - just like anyone else, so I feel 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, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other productive ways," Chen said.