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 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 wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically essential" and its venture into the field has actually 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 pipewiki.org showed promises of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.

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

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

Commentary: DeepSeek - how a Chinese AI business just altered the guidelines of tech-geopolitics

The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 could also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs dealing with innovative reasoning tasks.

"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to use generative AI to jobs and establish more advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key obstacle 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) limit the capability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative ways to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big distinction for training really large AI models."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore states it expects business to adhere to its laws

US checking out whether DeepSeek used limited AI chips obtained through other nations, source states

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 considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to steer 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues rather!"

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

The vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may also restrict its flexibility (to bring out) 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 established AI designs which presents additional challenges during real-world deployment."

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

That was after multiple repeated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others injured, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

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

Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the cops.

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

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

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The government and regional authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the event.

If you require more detailed details or have specific questions about the event, feel complimentary to ask.

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

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

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively published in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, however, differ.

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

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed 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 worldwide AI scene

As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for it-viking.ch 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, higgledy-piggledy.xyz featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, 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 consisted of intricate 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 "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good battle, developing a similarly remarkable 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 common as ancient myths."

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

"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new truth and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this odd brand-new world", he then escapes and meets 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 protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under 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, adding that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-efficient development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that produced a more engaging and creative narrative 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 questions about Chinese present occasions, which gives it an added benefit.

Experts likewise 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 firm Strategy Risks.

"When given an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - just like anyone 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 individuals using the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.