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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 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'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping's objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically essential" and its venture 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from brand-new data.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI designs dealing with advanced thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found creative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big distinction for training very large 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, subjects deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to avoid domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this type of question yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

To further evaluate 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 vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later.

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

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of useful constraints".

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to innovative hardware which can affect 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 information may likewise limit its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses extra obstacles during real-world release."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our question about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.

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

It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident", details which is now dated.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The occurrence happened on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 motorist, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the police.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

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

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have actually 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 event, feel free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to pose the same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on events that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been commonly published in worldwide report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

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

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

Opinions, though, differ.

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

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As reporters and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi motion picture plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

It included fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good battle, coming up with an equally significant cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching 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 storyline that appeared more suited for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this odd brand-new world", he then leaves and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, pipewiki.org adding that each displayed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, but rather evolving in economical innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese current 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 drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - simply like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on from it."

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

"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.