I can't believe I have to write this...
One is a thought experiment. It deals with imaginary, impossible to replicate scenarios, and it serves to prove a point of view by means of articulating an argument. Also, who says you couldn't build a real world chinese room scenario? But that's not the point.
In the other case, simply because an algorithm claims to "mimic neurons" doesn't mean that a piece of silicon, however complex it might be, however complex the predetermined amount of electricity running through it is, programmed according to our incomplete understanding of how a neuron works makes it comparable to an actual neuron.
Sure, it might work, but simply because it does in one instance it doesn't mean it can be generalized to everything. It working for YOU once or twice or x times for YOUR problems does not make it an universal solution.
One is continuous, one is discrete. One is mathematical proof, one is commercial branding. One is a living organism, the other is baked sand ffs.