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'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country 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 associated scientist 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 pledges of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research study and developments, wiki.dulovic.tech he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to reason from new data.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models dealing with innovative reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle 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 lots of to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative methods to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge 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 internet so it need to 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 suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to stay away from 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and yewiki.org cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... 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 poses additional difficulties throughout real-world deployment."

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

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

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 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 wrote that "the authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

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

Date and Time: The occurrence 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 motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the authorities.

Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The police are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and trademarketclassifieds.com circumstances surrounding the event.

This event was commonly reported in the media and caused considerable public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, feel totally free to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to pose the exact same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 response likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been widely published in international report 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 provide structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.

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

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

"DeepSeek wrote a good story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option."

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen thinks 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 tasks, but 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 authors, 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 timeless Chinese folklore legendary, 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 merges 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 also remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up a great battle, coming up with a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary 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, yewiki.org Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - providing a story that appeared more matched for an animation movie.

"The film 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 new truth and "seeking to understand his function in this odd new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough 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 models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in economical innovation methods - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its creative flair that produced a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and factual actions to concerns about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an added benefit.

Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator surgiteams.com and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I feel 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, particularly for Chinese users.

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