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 startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

This audio is generated 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 "strategically 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 sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the idea that smaller players 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 advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from brand-new information.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI models taking on advanced thinking tasks.

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

AGI refers to 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 ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential difficulty 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found innovative methods to optimize or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction 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, subjects 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 happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest 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 kind of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

To further test for accuracy and wiki.whenparked.com self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had occurred in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

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

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to 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 product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which poses additional challenges 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 attempts - four prompts to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated 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, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are performing a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, wiki.myamens.com Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number of casualties. Here are the essential 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: links.gtanet.com.br The motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the authorities.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This event was commonly reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to offer assistance to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on events that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been extensively released in international news reports 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 "mentally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, however, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also 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 standard sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up an excellent fight, developing a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - providing a story that seemed more matched for an animation film.

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

Realising his new reality and "seeking to understand his function in this unusual brand-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 quest, forum.altaycoins.com browsing 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 "hard 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 information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, however rather evolving in economical development approaches - and providing localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its creative flair that made for 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, provides accurate and factual reactions to questions about Chinese present events, which provides it an added advantage.

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

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

"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."

Independent Beijing-based specialist 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 using the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.