Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that internet users in China enjoy freedom of speech "in accordance with the law."
Speaking at a regular news briefing on Thursday, he said China was willing to work with other countries on such issues but was "against any other countries using internet freedom as a pretext for interfering in others' internal affairs".
Last year, China accused Washington of "information imperialism", after a similar speech by Mrs Clinton.
China has the world's largest internet market, with 457 million people online.
Twitter is blocked there but similar services like Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo have tens of millions of users.
Beijing uses extensive censorship controls, known as the "Great Firewall of China", to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic.