Our navy is larger than the next several largest navies combined... and China's is not among the top ten... and China's navy is not tooling up for a fight against US ships in open waters.
I think we might avoid obeying short-sighted headline-logic before committing billions unnecessarily.
China is building a navy for just ONE reason.
A fast dash across the Taiwan Straits and overwhelming the Taiwanese Navy and any US/Japanese ships in the western Pacific,, with enough subs and aircraft to hold up any large response just long enough for “World Opinion” to force a U.N. cease-fire, with China in control of Taiwan, under the threat of a global nuclear war.
Most of those ships will be cannon fodder, but if they meet thier goals, then they have served thier purpose.