They did? I don't know if they ever did, and during all these years, the Chinese Navy operated the Type 054A to the full extent of their range. Like operating them in the South Atlantic, in one of the detours from the Gulf of Aden escort missions. One exercised in South Africa early last December. Detours include a port visit to London to St. Petersburg to attend Russian Naval celebrations.
That's my understanding.
The Lafayettes are literally designed to sail and operate halfway across the world, all the way from France to the Pacific/Indian Ocean etc
In comparison, the Type-054A was designed for high-intensity tasks in the Western Pacific, near to Chinese ports.
That is the top priority.
If you're talking about the long-distance missions that the Type-054A has previously conducted, remember the Type-054A were still accompanied by a replenishment ship.
And if you think about it, it's literally only a few Frigates making distant port visits in peacetime.
In peacetime, friendly port visits and refuelling are not an issue.
So it's worth optimising the Type-054A design for tasks closer to Chinese waters.