Which Chinese LLM is best in 2026? We rank GLM-5, GLM-5.1, Qwen3.5, Kimi K2.5, DeepSeek V3.2, MiMo, and more using current BenchLM data across coding, math, reasoning, and agentic work.
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The Chinese frontier is stronger and more crowded than the old GLM-vs-Qwen-vs-DeepSeek framing suggests. Z.AI now has the top two rows in this slice with GLM-5 (Reasoning) at 85 and GLM-5.1 at 84. Alibaba still has the broadest lineup. Moonshot's Kimi rows remain important, especially for coding. DeepSeek is still the cheapest widely known open-weight option, but it has fallen meaningfully behind the top Chinese entries on overall score.
| Rank | Model | Creator | Score | Type | Open Weight | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLM-5 (Reasoning) | Z.AI | 85 | Reasoning | Yes | 200K |
| 2 | GLM-5.1 | Z.AI | 84 | Non-Reasoning | Yes | 203K |
| 3 | Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) | Alibaba | 81 | Reasoning | Yes | 128K |
| 4 | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Moonshot AI | 79 | Reasoning | No | 128K |
| 5 | GLM-5 | Z.AI | 77 | Non-Reasoning | Yes | 200K |
| 6 | Qwen3.6 Plus | Alibaba | 77 | Non-Reasoning | No | 1M |
| 7 | GLM-4.7 | Z.AI | 72 | Reasoning | Yes | 200K |
| 8 | Kimi K2.5 | Moonshot AI | 68 | Non-Reasoning | Yes | 128K |
| 9 | Qwen3.5-122B-A10B | Alibaba | 68 | Non-Reasoning | Yes | 262K |
| 10 | Qwen3.5 397B | Alibaba | 66 | Non-Reasoning | Yes | 128K |
The most important change here is that GLM-5.1 is now ranked and immediately sits near the very top. The second is that the Chinese leaderboard is no longer just one or two labs deep. Z.AI, Alibaba, and Moonshot all have serious rows in the upper tier.
| Model | Creator | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | 94 | |
| GPT-5.4 | OpenAI | 94 |
| Claude Opus 4.6 | Anthropic | 92 |
| GLM-5 (Reasoning) | Z.AI | 85 |
| GLM-5.1 | Z.AI | 84 |
| Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) | Alibaba | 81 |
| Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Moonshot AI | 79 |
The gap is still real. The best Chinese row is 9 points behind the current 94-point proprietary leaders. But that gap is much smaller than it used to be, and the Chinese rows keep one structural advantage: many of them are still open weight.
GLM-5 (Reasoning) remains the strongest Chinese all-rounder on BenchLM's current data. It combines the best overall score in the slice with strong math and agentic performance.
GLM-5.1 is now the second-strongest Chinese row overall and remains open weight. That makes it one of the most important Chinese releases in the current catalog.
The current coding picture is tighter than the old Kimi-only narrative.
If you care most about the broader coding category score, Kimi and Qwen remain the most interesting Chinese rows to inspect first.
GLM-5 (Reasoning) remains the strongest Chinese math-heavy row in the current ranking slice. It is still the cleanest pick when the work is reasoning-first rather than only chat-oriented.
The strongest self-hostable rows are still:
That remains one of the biggest differentiators between the Chinese frontier and the top closed Western API rows.
Z.AI is now the clear leader in this slice. GLM-5 (Reasoning) at 85 and GLM-5.1 at 84 give it the top two spots, and GLM-5 plus GLM-4.7 still provide depth underneath.
Alibaba still has the broadest family. Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) remains the strongest Qwen row at 81, while Qwen3.6 Plus, Qwen3.5-122B-A10B, Qwen3.5 397B, and Qwen3.5-27B give Alibaba a wide spread of options.
Moonshot remains highly relevant because Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) is still one of the strongest Chinese coding-oriented rows, and the non-reasoning Kimi K2.5 at 68 remains a strong open-weight deployment option.
DeepSeek still matters because it stays cheap and open weight, not because it leads the current Chinese leaderboard. DeepSeek V3.2 (Thinking) at 65 is still useful for cost-sensitive deployment, but it is well behind the GLM and top Qwen rows on BenchLM's current data.
MiMo-V2-Flash still shows up as a credible mid-tier Chinese row at 63, but it is no longer close to the very top of this slice.
The Chinese ecosystem still keeps one major edge over the top proprietary Western rows: access.
| Model | Score | Weights available |
|---|---|---|
| GLM-5 (Reasoning) | 85 | Yes |
| GLM-5.1 | 84 | Yes |
| Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) | 81 | Yes |
| GLM-5 | 77 | Yes |
| GLM-4.7 | 72 | Yes |
| Qwen3.5-122B-A10B | 68 | Yes |
| DeepSeek V3.2 (Thinking) | 65 | Yes |
If you need downloadable weights, self-hosting, or deeper control of the inference stack, the Chinese frontier is still structurally stronger than the closed Western API tier.
The current Chinese leaderboard is no longer a one-row story.
The top Chinese rows are now genuinely competitive mid-to-high frontier systems, even if they still trail the very top proprietary leaders on overall score.
Check the full rankings at /best/chinese-models for the live table as new benchmark rows land.
What is the best Chinese LLM in 2026? GLM-5 (Reasoning) from Z.AI currently leads BenchLM's Chinese leaderboard at 85, followed by GLM-5.1 at 84 and Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) at 81.
Is DeepSeek better than GPT-5.4? No. DeepSeek V3.2 (Thinking) scores 65 versus GPT-5.4 at 94 on BenchLM's current data.
Which Chinese LLM is best for coding? Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) and Qwen3.5 397B (Reasoning) remain two of the strongest Chinese coding rows, with GLM-5.1 also now firmly in the conversation.
Are Chinese LLMs open source? Many of the strongest rows are open weight, but that is not the same as strict OSI-open-source status.
How do Chinese LLMs compare to ChatGPT and Claude? They are closer than they were a year ago, but the best Chinese row still trails the current 94-point proprietary leaders by 9 points.
All benchmark data comes from BenchLM's live dataset. Rankings reflect the current site data rather than older pre-v4 scoring snapshots.
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