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.

Qwen2.5-Max chatbot, Chinese startup DeepSeek and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

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Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags 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 essential” and its venture into the field has actually been “years in the making”, said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

Private and public investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world organization applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek’s rise that truly “urged” the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.

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The “emphasis on cost benefit” is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI models taking on advanced thinking jobs.

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

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek’s momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia’s sophisticated AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

“US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies … requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model abilities,” she said.

“While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to optimize or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge distinction 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 ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, subjects considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to steer clear of domestic politics.

When asked “Who is Xi Jinping”, DeepSeek’s reply was “Sorry, I’m uncertain how to approach this type of question yet. Let’s chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues rather!”

To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: “What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?”

The vehicle attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had taken location, highlighting rather a military air show 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 might be a mix of elements at play, archmageriseswiki.com such as censorship as well as “a few practical constraints”.

“DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to innovative hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded,” she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

“Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its versatility (to bring out) multilingual tasks … As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn’t yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which presents additional obstacles during real-world implementation.”

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

That sought numerous repeated attempts - four triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, likewise going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that “the cops are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the occurrence”, details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5’s reaction in complete:

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

Date and Time: The occurrence took place 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: The chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the cops.

Response: The police responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are performing an extensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the event.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to posture the same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply “I don’t have specific details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024”.

The altered action likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even “mentally rich” writing.

“DeepSeek-R1 used 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 constructs slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting,” she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately “crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more considerable twist”.

“DeepSeek composed a great story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent 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, but 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 journalists and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an engaging story 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 skyscrapers”, “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 “a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body”, Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 installed a great fight, developing a similarly significant 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 rule, corporations replace 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 high-tech research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing,” it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new truth and “seeking to understand his function in this unusual new world”, he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - “each having problem with their own existential crises”.

The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual “Eternal Scroll” from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was “hard to make a conclusive statement” about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in various areas, “such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization”.

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical development methods - and providing localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek’s sci-fi film plot showed its innovative flair that produced a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT’s efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and factual responses to questions about Chinese existing events, which provides it an included benefit.

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

“DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints,” noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

“When offered a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I feel 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, especially for Chinese users.

“Ninety per cent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They’re using it for other productive methods,” Chen said.