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 goal and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "tactically crucial" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and systemcheck-wiki.de public investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up firms might have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI models dealing with innovative thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to use generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial obstacle for Chinese designers, kept in mind 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 alternatives which can slow training and reduce model abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to optimize or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training large AI models."

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So how do Chinese AI bots match up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.

WHICH BEST EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, subjects considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to avoid 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 evaluate 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 cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later on.

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

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the design can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may also restrict its versatility (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 recognized AI designs which positions extra obstacles during real-world implementation."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably answered our concern about the Zhuhai automobile attack.

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

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others injured, 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 performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, archmageriseswiki.com was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

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

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

Casualties: The attack led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: hb9lc.org The chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the cops.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, systemcheck-wiki.de and emergency services worked to carry the injured to medical facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to pose 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 happened 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 been widely published in global report at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts 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 offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen thinks 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in imaginative writing," he informed CNA.

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As reporters and authors, wiki.myamens.com 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 traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek came up with an interesting 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 sophisticated 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 traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a great fight, coming up with a similarly remarkable 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 typical as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a storyline that appeared more fit for an animation film.

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

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to understand his function in this unusual new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

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

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in economical innovation techniques - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for hb9lc.org a more engaging and creative story 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 gives it an added benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas 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 company Strategy Risks.

"When provided an option, Chinese users want 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 percent of individuals using 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 methods," Chen said.