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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 produced 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 goal 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 venture into the field has actually 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed promises of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, forum.batman.gainedge.org with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new data.

2025 might likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI models dealing with advanced thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective methods to use generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle 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 business ... requiring lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found innovative ways to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training large AI designs."

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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 delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what took place 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 concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues instead!"

To even more 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 automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a program and other events that had happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also limit its adaptability (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which presents additional obstacles during real-world implementation."

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

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

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, also going on to list details like the date and time, 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 motives and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the key details:

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

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

Investigation: The authorities are carrying out an extensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to provide support to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed examination into the incident.

If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, feel free to ask.

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

The altered reaction also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been commonly published in international news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more considerable twist".

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

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out 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 informed CNA.

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

True to form, DeepSeek developed an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "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 also remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up an excellent battle, coming up with a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise 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 myths."

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

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

Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to comprehend his function in this unusual new world", he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time 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 wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in economical innovation techniques - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese current events, which gives it an included benefit.

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

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

"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anybody 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 using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive ways," Chen said.