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

This audio is produced 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 foray into the field has 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 financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.

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

2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models tackling sophisticated reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to use generative AI to jobs and develop more advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, wavedream.wiki noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) limit the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge 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, topics deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to avoid 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems instead!"

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

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

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

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

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

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which postures extra obstacles during real-world release."

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

That wanted numerous repeated efforts - four prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, 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 wrote that "the cops are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), archmageriseswiki.com was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are conducting a thorough investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and regional authorities have been working to provide support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.

If you require more detailed details or have specific concerns about the occurrence, feel totally free to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to present the very same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been widely published in global report at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed a great story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he informed 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 fundamental sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

It included fancy 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 likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good fight, developing an equally dramatic 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - delivering a storyline that appeared more matched 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 new reality and "seeking to understand his purpose in this unusual new world", he then gets away and bytes-the-dust.com satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect 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 statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely replicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-effective innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie 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 precise and accurate responses to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers it an included 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, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When given an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply like anyone else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on 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 per cent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other efficient methods," Chen said.