How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
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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 startup 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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

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

China views AI as being "tactically important" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research and developments, he includes.

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The "focus on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new data.

2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models taking on innovative reasoning tasks.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training huge AI models."

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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 deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must 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 recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to steer clear of 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 math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

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

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

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship in addition to "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 model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its versatility (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which poses extra obstacles throughout real-world implementation."

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

That sought several duplicated efforts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, also going on to list details like the date and ratemywifey.com time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.

However, it wrote that "the cops are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now dated.

The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous 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 significant number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The occurrence 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, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the cops.

Response: The cops reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to medical facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to provide 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 incident, feel totally free to ask.

Despite success, subsequent attempts to present the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 modified action also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been commonly released in international report at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs gradually from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen 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 abundant story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

Related:

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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 film 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 interesting storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

It consisted of intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It also remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat 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 end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up an excellent battle, creating an equally significant cyberpunk story 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 rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this odd brand-new world", he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time 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 into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-effective development techniques - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and factual responses to questions about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an included advantage.

Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing 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 firm Strategy Risks.

"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I feel 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 percent of people using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.