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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has long been President Xi Jinping's goal and setiathome.berkeley.edu China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically important" and its foray into the field has 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs dealing with sophisticated reasoning tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to use generative AI to tasks and develop advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, pipewiki.org remains a key obstacle 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 capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to enhance or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training really 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, subjects 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 tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured 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 concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning issues rather!"

To further check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, kigalilife.co.rw Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken place, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and photorum.eclat-mauve.fr 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 limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how quickly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, bytes-the-dust.com pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may also limit its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI models which poses extra obstacles throughout real-world implementation."

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

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

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals 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, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are conducting an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man 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 crucial 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 driver, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.

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

Investigation: The authorities are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and triggered considerable public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified action likewise 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 accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in imaginative writing," he told CNA.

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As reporters and writers, we needed 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, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek developed an appealing storyline embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

It included sophisticated 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 likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen 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 become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up a good fight, creating an equally significant cyberpunk storyline 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 challenge - providing a storyline that seemed more suited for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to understand his function in this strange 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 quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the .

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in economical innovation approaches - and providing localised and improved outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more interesting and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers it an added benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and wiki.dulovic.tech other Chinese AI apps.

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

"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - just 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, particularly for Chinese users.

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