HN is very quick to criticize the administration (which believe me has a ton to criticize) for this move but also defend China's blocking of international apps.
A lot has changed in the last 12 hours I guess.
Really, reciprocity (and the paradox of intolerance) is an implicit expectation in many situations and we need to talk about how to deal with it.
We surely like freedom of speech but still we want to silence, for example, anti-vaxxer.
So no I don't think there is a real distinction.
You always lose freedoms when fighting for freedoms. Some people even lose their lives.
The hope is that we only lose the freedom temporarily (e.g. the freedom to buy a Cuban cigar being reinstated).
Criticizing US blocking stuff != defending China blocking stuff