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 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 essential" and its foray into the field has actually 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 took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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

Commentary: pediascape.science DeepSeek - how a Chinese AI company just altered the rules of tech-geopolitics

The "focus on cost advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from new data.

2025 might likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative thinking tasks.

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

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

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

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing lots of to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative methods to optimize or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction for training huge AI models."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: fishtanklive.wiki Singapore says it anticipates companies to adhere to its laws

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

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 web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to stay away from 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 issues rather!"

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

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually happened, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had actually taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to advanced hardware which can affect how rapidly 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 also limit its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI designs which presents extra challenges throughout real-world release."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.

That was after multiple repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, also 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 authorities are carrying out an extensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful incident took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The incident took place 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 nabbed by the police.

Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a comprehensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the event.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and bytes-the-dust.com to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, feel free 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 took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed reaction likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been extensively released in global news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.

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

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

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

Opinions, wiki.whenparked.com though, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly 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 strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.

Related:

China's brand-new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng?

'Made in China': Pride, enjoyable surprise from Chinese netizens as DeepSeek jolts global AI scene

As journalists and wiki.asexuality.org authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

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

It included intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".

It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up a great battle, coming up with a similarly dramatic 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research facility located 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 odd new world", he then gets away and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "difficult to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather progressing in cost-effective development techniques - and providing localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers accurate and factual responses to questions about Chinese existing occasions, which gives it an added advantage.

Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after using 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 given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to 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, particularly for users.

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