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How do Chinese AI 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 produced 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 objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically essential" 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 took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up firms might have functions to play in AI research and developments, he includes.

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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI models taking on sophisticated reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.

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

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

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

"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative methods to enhance or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI designs."

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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 deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it need to 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 recommend Chinese chatbots are set to steer clear of domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic problems instead!"

To even more evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken place, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had occurred in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which poses additional difficulties throughout real-world deployment."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.

That was after multiple repeated attempts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which killed 35 individuals 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, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are performing a thorough investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in full:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, pipewiki.org male, 62 years old) 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 occurred on November 11, 2024, at roughly 19:48 PM.

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

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

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

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

Investigation: The cops are performing an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This event was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and local authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, feel free to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to pose 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 took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The altered reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been widely released in worldwide report at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option."

Opinions, though, differ.

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 tasks, but we can also 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 standard sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

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

It also remarkably 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 "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up an excellent fight, developing an equally dramatic cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The motion picture begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research facility located 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 function in this strange brand-new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on 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 conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in cost-effective innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more appealing 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 reactions to questions about Chinese current occasions, which offers it an included advantage.

Experts also 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 study firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - just like anyone 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, 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 using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.