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 video 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 country into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping’s objective and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being “tactically crucial” and its foray into the field has actually been “years in the making”, said Chen Qiheng, hb9lc.org an affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek’s rise that actually “encouraged” the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he includes.

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The “focus on cost benefit” is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from new data.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative reasoning tasks.

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

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

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

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia’s advanced AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle 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) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies … forcing many to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease design abilities,” she said.

“While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered imaginative methods to optimize or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge difference for training huge AI designs.”

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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 should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed 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 concern yet. Let’s chat about mathematics, coding, and logic problems instead!”

To further check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: “What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?”

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

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles’ day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to “a few practical constraints”.

“DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded,” she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

“Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also limit its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual jobs … As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn’t yet been evaluated as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses additional obstacles during real-world implementation.”

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

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

It eventually 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, in addition to casualties.

However, it wrote that “the authorities are conducting an extensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident”, details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5’s reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and bytes-the-dust.com awful occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and Time: The occurrence occurred 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 chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the authorities.

Response: The police reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the intentions and hb9lc.org scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to posture the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply “I don’t have particular details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024”.

The altered response also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively released in worldwide 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 provide 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 builds slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting,” she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually “crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist”.

“DeepSeek composed a great story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option.”

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly 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 told 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 embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, “Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra” - which sees “a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing”.

It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies “pierced by skyscrapers”, “holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets” and “ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms”.

It likewise remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as “an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body”, Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner “drowning in financial obligation and vices” and disgaeawiki.info Sha Wujing as a “quiet hulking android” from the Yangtze River, whose “memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented”.

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, creating an equally significant cyberpunk story which similarly 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths.”

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

“The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study facility 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 gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - “each dealing with their own existential crises”.

The trio then embarks on 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 kept in mind that it was “tough to make a conclusive declaration” about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in various areas, “such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization”.

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable development approaches - and delivering 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 showed its imaginative flair that produced a more interesting and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT’s efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present occasions, which offers it an added benefit.

Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

“DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints,” kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

“When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - similar to anyone else, so I seem like that’s a piece missing from it.”

Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically 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 topics. They’re using it for other efficient methods,” Chen said.