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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 created by an AI tool.

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 ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically important" 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world organization applications, wiki.whenparked.com Chen told CNA.

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

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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and wavedream.wiki reasoning costs - the expenses of using a trained design to reason from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative thinking tasks.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen added.

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

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

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle 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 ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative ways to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference 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 considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to stay away from 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 rather!"

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

The automobile 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 on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had actually taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks 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 limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, trademarketclassifieds.com 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 exact same scale as more recognized AI models which postures extra challenges during real-world implementation."

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

That was after multiple duplicated efforts - four triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

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

However, it composed that "the cops are conducting a comprehensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now dated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at around 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the police.

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

Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This event was widely reported in the media and caused considerable public concern. The government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the incident.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to pose the exact same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been commonly released in international report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

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

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

Opinions, however, vary.

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, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As journalists and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi motion picture plot embeded 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 interesting storyline embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float 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 stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in debt and vices" and as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good battle, creating a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline 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 rule, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new truth and "looking for to understand his function in this strange new world", he then gets away 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 spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, however rather evolving in cost-effective innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

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

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

"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.

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

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

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