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 actually 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 "strategically crucial" and its venture 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 wiki.dulovic.tech public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was that truly "urged" the idea that smaller players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research and developments, he includes.

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The "focus on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, hb9lc.org with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs tackling advanced thinking jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, yewiki.org particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, engel-und-waisen.de remains an essential 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) limit the capability of Chinese tech business ... requiring many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to optimize or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training extremely big 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 delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it should 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 configured to avoid domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of question yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic issues rather!"

To further test for accuracy 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 heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had taken place, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

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

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may also limit its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which poses additional obstacles throughout real-world implementation."

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

That was after several repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several 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 considerable variety of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at approximately 19:48 PM.

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: setiathome.berkeley.edu The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are carrying out an extensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The government and regional authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the incident.

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

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

The modified response likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have 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 writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more considerable twist".

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

Opinions, however, differ.

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

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

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As journalists and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

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

It also remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat 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 set up a great battle, coming up with an equally significant cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring 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 obstacle - delivering a storyline that appeared more matched for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "seeking to understand his function in this odd brand-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 mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging 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 information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in affordable development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and wavedream.wiki accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese present events, which gives it an added 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, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like anyone else, so I seem 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 pertains to AI bots, especially for Chinese users.

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