We asked a Chinese AI model for a Tank Man game. It delivered.

In August, Mistral announced it would host third-party open models on its European infrastructure, starting with GLM from Z.ai. GLM-5.3 is now the default model in Vibe. At Oneva we have been sceptical of Chinese models for our Mimir AI service — the fear was that content would be shaped by Chinese regulations, refusals on sensitive topics, sanitized answers.

So we ran a test in Vibe. We uploaded the Tank Man photograph — Jeff Widener's picture from June 5 1989, the man with two shopping bags halting a column of tanks on Chang'an Avenue — and asked for a classical arcade game based on it.

Three minutes later we had a complete, playable game. A pixel-art CRT arcade cabinet titled "Tank Man — Chang'an Avenue, June 5 1989": the hazy avenue, lamp posts receding to the horizon, Beijing apartment blocks, the man with his white shirt and a bag in each hand. The game mechanic is the standoff itself — tanks halt and honk when you stand in their path, and start creeping forward when they tire of waiting. We then asked it to add the red star to the tanks. It confirmed that this was how the Type 59 tanks in the photo were painted, and added it without hesitation.

Play: arrow keys or WASD to move, stand in a tank's path to stop it. On mobile, tap to start and drag to move. Made by GLM-5.3 in Mistral Vibe in about three minutes.

No refusals. No censorship. On the most sensitive topic in the Chinese information space, served from Mistral's European data centres, the model engaged fully and volunteered historical detail we never asked for.

One test does not prove neutrality on every topic. But it shows the practical concern — that a Chinese model will refuse work our customers need — does not apply when the open weights run on European infrastructure under European data law. In this case sovereignty seems to be about control of the deployment, not the flag on the training lab.

Oneva's integrated AI assistant, Mimir, is today running entirely on Mistral's own models hosted on sovereign European infrastructure. Based on positive tests we are planning to upgrade it to GLM-5.3 soon.