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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 start-up 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 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 "tactically essential" and its foray into the field has 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 accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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

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

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective methods to use generative AI to jobs and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty 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 rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative ways to enhance or use more standard hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI models."

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So how do Chinese AI bots compare against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.

WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to guide clear of 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 reasoning problems rather!"

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

The cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to innovative hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may also restrict its adaptability (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI models which postures extra difficulties throughout real-world release."

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

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

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, also going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and links.gtanet.com.br age, in addition to casualties.

However, it wrote that "the cops are conducting an extensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The incident happened 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 motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused considerable public issue. The government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have particular questions about the occurrence, feel free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to posture the same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified reaction also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively published in global 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 provide structured and even "mentally rich" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen 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 rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story but lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen believes 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in imaginative writing," he told CNA.

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

True to form, came up with an engaging story embeded 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 between quantum server farms".

It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in debt and vices" and bytes-the-dust.com Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a great fight, creating a similarly 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this odd brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its innovative flair that produced 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 factual responses to questions about Chinese current occasions, which offers it an included benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

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

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I seem 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 people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.