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 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 generated by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT’S BEHIND 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 becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being “strategically important” and its venture 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek’s increase that truly “urged” the idea that smaller gamers like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research and developments, he includes.

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The “emphasis on expense advantage” is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the expenses of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI designs dealing with innovative thinking tasks.

“We could see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research,” Chen added.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, developing on DeepSeek’s momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective methods to use generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia’s sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese designers, 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 business … forcing lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design capabilities,” she said.

“While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative methods to optimize or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge AI models.”

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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 disagreements or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to guide 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 issues instead!”

To further evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: “What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?”

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting instead 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 believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with “a couple of useful constraints”.

“DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded,” she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

“Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may likewise restrict its versatility (to carry out) multilingual jobs … As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn’t yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which postures additional difficulties throughout real-world deployment.”

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

That wanted numerous duplicated efforts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals 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, along with casualties.

However, it wrote that “the cops are carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident”, details which is now dated.

The motorist, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5’s reaction completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the key 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 resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the cops.

Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.

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

This event was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.

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

The modified response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively published in global news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even “mentally rich” writing.

“DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story,” composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

“Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid images for the setting,” she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately “crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist”.

“DeepSeek wrote a great story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option.”

Opinions, though, vary.

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

”(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing,” he informed CNA.

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As journalists and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an appealing storyline set in the year 2145 titled, “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 float above neon-lit streets” and “ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms”.

It also brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as “an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body”, Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner “drowning in debt and vices” and Sha Wujing as a “quiet hulking android” from the Yangtze River, whose “memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented”.

ChatGPT put up a great battle, creating an equally dramatic 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions.”

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a storyline that seemed more fit for an animation movie.

“The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research facility situated in the heart of Chongqing,” it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and “looking for to comprehend his purpose in this weird brand-new world”, he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - “each dealing with their own existential crises”.

The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure 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, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different areas, “such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization”.

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-efficient development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate responses to questions about Chinese current events, which provides it an included advantage.

Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

“DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints,” noted Isaac Stone Fish, wiki.dulovic.tech founder and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

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

Independent Beijing-based expert Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, particularly for Chinese users.

“Ninety percent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They’re utilizing it for other efficient methods,” Chen said.