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'S BEHIND 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 scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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

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

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 reason from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on advanced reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more sophisticated items beyond chatbots.

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

"US export controls (still) limit the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative methods to enhance or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training extremely large AI models."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore says it expects business to abide by its laws

US looking into whether DeepSeek utilized limited AI chips obtained through other nations, source says

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 delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it ought to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend 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 kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken place, 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 might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of useful constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which presents additional challenges during real-world implementation."

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

That was after numerous duplicated efforts - four triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

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

However, it composed that "the authorities are performing a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the event", details which is now dated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event occurred on November 11, 2024, at approximately 19:48 PM.

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

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

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.

Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the and their households, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to posture the exact same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 altered action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been widely published in worldwide news reports 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 abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

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

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

Related:

China's new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng?

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

As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, 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 combines with quantum computing".

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", raovatonline.org Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, bytes-the-dust.com whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, developing an equally dramatic cyberpunk storyline 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 rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

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

"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

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

The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-effective innovation methods - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual responses to concerns about Chinese current occasions, which provides it an added advantage.

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

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

"When given an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anybody else, so I seem 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, specifically for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient means," Chen said.