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 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 important" and its venture into the field has 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.

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

'A lot is up in the air': Is Chinese firm 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 cost benefit" is a distinctive function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained model to reason from new information.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced thinking jobs.

"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, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese developers, noted 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 abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found creative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training huge AI models."

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

US looking into 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 deemed delicate by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured 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 mathematics, coding, and logic issues rather!"

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

The cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily 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 happened, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which positions extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

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

That sought multiple duplicated efforts - four prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately 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, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the incident", wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the essential 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: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the cops.

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

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to offer 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 questions about the occurrence, 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 do not have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified action also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been extensively released in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide 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," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."

Opinions, though, vary.

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, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in imaginative writing," he told CNA.

Related:

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

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

As journalists and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise remarkably reimagined conventional 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 set up an excellent fight, creating an equally dramatic cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."

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

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

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

The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-efficient development techniques - and providing localised and enhanced results.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate responses to questions about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an added benefit.

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

"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator 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 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 to AI bots, particularly for Chinese users.

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