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Traditional cruisers were intermediate armored gunships of a size and potency between battleships and destroyers. Ship to ship gun duels were rare in WW II and absent entirely in Korea, so cruisers were most often used for shore bombardment and fleet antiaircraft gun defense.

Nowadays, there are no battleships in service and cruisers and destroyers are of similar size and are mostly used for defending aircraft carriers. For that purpose, US cruisers and destroyers rely on sophisticated radar, an array of missiles and short-range cannons against attacks from the air, with sonar and torpedoes against enemy submarines. In a pinch, even though US destroyers and cruisers have little or no armor, they are expected to absorb or divert missile or torpedo attacks so as to protect carriers.

You are correct about our need for more naval surface combat vessels. Against China, the best US strategy will rely heavily on cutting off China's sea trade. Much of that will be done through economic warfare, but having USN aircraft carrier task forces and even single destroyers and frigates prowling the world's oceans will back up our diplomatic demands.

Notably, upgrades to the longest range US Navy missiles on cruisers and destroyers now make them capable of striking everything from satellites, to incoming ballistic missiles, to enemy ships almost a hundred miles away. Connectivity with drones and combat aircraft will permit even relatively small US Naval vessels to direct air attacks from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

If done properly and with severity, trade interdiction and economic warfare will collapse China's economy into a severe depression, with mass unemployment and potential starvation. This will cause the CCP to be overthrown, with China soon breaking up into several regional states.