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 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 "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 revealed promises of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms could have functions to play in AI research and developments, he adds.

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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models dealing with advanced thinking tasks.

"We could see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective methods to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a crucial obstacle 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found imaginative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training extremely large AI designs."

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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, subjects considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it should come as no 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 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 math, coding, and logic issues rather!"

To further test for setiathome.berkeley.edu accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

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

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had taken place, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of useful constraints".

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise limit its flexibility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI models which positions additional difficulties during real-world deployment."

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

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

It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens 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 composed that "the police are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:

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

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

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

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

Perpetrator: The motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), wiki.myamens.com was captured by the cops.

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

Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This event was commonly reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and larsaluarna.se their families, and to ensure a detailed examination into the event.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to position the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively released in worldwide report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 offered 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 builds gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

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

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As reporters and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

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

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

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

ChatGPT set up an excellent fight, creating an equally remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring 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 challenge - delivering a story that appeared more suited for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this weird new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-effective innovation approaches - and providing localised and improved results.

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

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

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

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 and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

"When given an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I feel 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, specifically for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent 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 efficient ways," Chen said.