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 startup 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 China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically essential" 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new data.

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

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains an essential 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 capability of Chinese tech business ... requiring many to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative ways to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge distinction for training extremely big 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 internet so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to stay away from domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this type of concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

To further check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What occurred 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 media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later on.

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

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which poses additional obstacles during real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, likewise 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 carrying out an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

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

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at roughly 19:48 PM.

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the cops.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to hospitals for treatment.

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

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.

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

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

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been commonly released in global news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided 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, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."

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 informed CNA.

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As journalists and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film 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 created an appealing storyline set 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 also brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, 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 end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good battle, coming up with a similarly dramatic 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 rule, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a story that appeared more matched for an animation movie.

"The motion picture starts 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 "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "difficult to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in cost-effective development methods - and delivering localised and enhanced results.

In our tests, wiki.dulovic.tech each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present occasions, which gives it an added advantage.

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

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

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

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

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