An AI-powered translation system powered by China's in-house large language model (LLM) DeepSeek is assisting Chinese rescue teams in Myanmar with Chinese-Burmese-English translation, according to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. 

Co-developed by the National Language Service Corps of China and Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), the system was built in merely seven hours.

Unlike traditional translation machines that utilize local knowledge base and struggle with accuracy in special situations, "With the LLM, when integrating terminology with existing knowledge bases, the translation quality can be significantly improved than that of traditional translation machines, fully meeting their (rescue teams) translation needs," according to Han Lintao from BLCU.

Han developed a website with DeepSeek's assistance, displaying Chinese, Burmese, and their pronunciation for emergency rescue terms. The translations were further verified by international students from Myanmar at BLCU.

"I actually provided them with multiple versions including one created by DeepSeek and one by ChatGPT, but the students said that the one by DeepSeek is the best," Han said.

After launching the website on March 29, Han has made several updates based on the rescue team requests, adding a voice translator and map integration for place names.

To date, the website has documented over ​700 unique users in Myanmar, marking the ​first deployment of a Chinese LLM in international earthquake rescue works, according to the embassy.