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 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 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 crucial" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, larsaluarna.se an affiliated 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 showed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models taking on innovative reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and affordable ways to apply generative AI to jobs and wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de develop advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

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

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found creative ways to enhance or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training extremely big AI designs."

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

WHICH BEST EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, topics 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 disputes or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"

To further evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de 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 arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may likewise limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which postures additional challenges during real-world deployment."

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

That sought several repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, it-viking.ch as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:

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

Date and Time: The occurrence 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 chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the police.

Response: The authorities responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have specific questions about the event, feel totally free to ask.

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

The altered response also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been commonly released in international report at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs gradually from interest 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, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."

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 likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

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As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including 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 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 a great battle, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise 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 misconceptions."

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

"The movie 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 new truth and "looking for to comprehend his function in this unusual brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard 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 statement" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

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

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

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

Unsurprisingly, yewiki.org the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese current events, which gives it an added benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts 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, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."

Independent Beijing-based specialist 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 trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're using it for other efficient means," Chen said.