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)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has 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 foray into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated researcher 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 guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the expenses of using a trained design to reason from brand-new data.

2025 could 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 focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key difficulty for Chinese developers, kept in mind 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 ... forcing many to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative ways to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge AI models."

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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, topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it need to 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 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning problems instead!"

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

The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had taken place, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had 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 elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a couple of useful constraints".

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the very 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 was after multiple duplicated attempts - four prompts to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others injured, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a thorough investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number 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 driver, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de was apprehended by the authorities.

Response: The police responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not 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 been widely released in global news reports 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 abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs gradually from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a good story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."

Opinions, though, differ.

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

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, 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 journalists 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 movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

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

It consisted of 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 remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, 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 "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good fight, coming up with a similarly significant cyberpunk story 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 rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

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

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

Realising his new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-effective innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its creative flair that made for a more appealing and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, pipewiki.org the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese current events, wiki.dulovic.tech 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 a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply like anybody else, so I feel 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, particularly for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.