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)

This audio is produced 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 objective and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically crucial" and its foray 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "urged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.

'A lot is up in the air': Is Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI model as impactful as it claims?

Commentary: DeepSeek - how a Chinese AI company simply changed the rules of tech-geopolitics

The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the expenses of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 could also see the emergence of more Chinese AI models tackling innovative reasoning tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to use generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, systemcheck-wiki.de remains an essential obstacle for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative ways to enhance or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training large AI designs."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore says it anticipates companies to adhere to its laws

US checking out whether DeepSeek utilized limited AI chips obtained through other nations, source says

So how do Chinese AI bots compare 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 internet so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to avoid 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 logic problems instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship as well as "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI models which postures extra difficulties during real-world deployment."

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

That sought numerous repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on about the attack which eliminated 35 people 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, as well as casualties.

However, it wrote that "the police are carrying out a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The incident took place 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 of ages), was captured by the authorities.

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

Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite preliminary 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 particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely published in worldwide 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 deliver structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, though, vary.

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

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

Related:

China's brand-new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng?

'Made in China': Pride, pleasant surprise from Chinese netizens as DeepSeek shocks global AI scene

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 movie 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 came up with 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 elaborate 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 likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up an excellent battle, developing an equally 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to understand his purpose in this weird new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "tough to make a conclusive statement" 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 replicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more engaging and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and factual reactions to questions about Chinese current events, 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 downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - similar to 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, especially for Chinese users.

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