Well, you can share it with us then(no sarcasm).
It'd good way to switch discussion from "we want big ships because we want to/have industry to feed/other"
to "list of tasks -> solution -> necessary force level on station - >necessary force levels overall" way of thought. Not in terms of ships, but in terms of PLAN as a whole.
What 055 realistically gives over 052D?
1.Better seakeeping, probably far better authonomy. It does exist, but to a degree - 7k ton combatant is already within traditional cruiser displacement.
2.Better volumes&command facilities, second helicopter. Unquestionable.
3.Better situational awareness(sensor suite, again second helicopter, etc).
4.Magazine capacity.
Qualitive points here is #2 and #3. Both can't justify same numbers, since neither really scale. #1 and #4 are quantitive, i.e. they're fine, but don't add anything principally new to the table.
Otherwise, both are 1st rank blue water surface combatants with similar capability list.
And if 052D isn't especially troublesome(doubtful) - there is really no worth.
I'll use your points 1-4 as well.
I believe #2 and #3 are indeed qualitative, and #1 and #4 are quantitative -- however that greater "quantitative" difference in terms of autonomy/endurance and magazine capacity also have a quality of its own.
Let's look at them more closely.
#1, i.e.: endurance and autonomy. I think the difference in endurance between a 13k ton ship and a 7k-8k ton ship's endurance should be significantly different. We can say that a 7k ton destroyer is already within "traditional cruiser displacement" but that doesn't change the absolute difference in endurance between a 7k ton and 13k ton ship. In other words, I'm suggesting that a 13k ton ship offers significantly greater endurance than a 7k ton ship and depending on the Navy, said Navy may be willing to pay for this depending on their mission (more on this later).
#4: i.e.: magazine capacity. The difference in VLS cells between the 7k ton 052D and the expected to be 13k ton 055 is going to be anywhere from 64 to 48 extra cells for 055, from the sounds of the rumours. The difference in VLS count of a ship may not seem major; for example one may think that simply having two 052Ds instead of a single 055 may be able to provide similar firepower, and that is true under certain circumstances. However there are also some missions where having a single large and well armed destroyer is more cost effective or efficient than two smaller destroyers and the possibility of needing a replenishment ship to support them. These missions, in my mind, include "armament intensive" missions where a ship may be forced to fire a large number of its VLS but also maintain sufficient reserve to continue operating on station or at least it can be relieved -- cruise missile bombardments are an example of the sort of mission I'm thinking about.
So yes, I agree that both 052D and the 055 are both/will both be very capable blue water surface combatants, and on paper may have a similar list of qualitative capabilities, though of course 055 will feature many qualitative advancements as well in terms of what you described in #2 and #3.
055 will very comfortably slide into the role of CSG air defence command, leading task forces, and acting as the primary shield of any sort of battle group. Due to these roles, I think 055 will definitely have a medium sized production run.
However, I think the 055 by virtue of its size will make it a far superior platform for longer endurance blue water missions as well, and its larger VLS count/armament capacity will make it a superior platform for more intensive fire missions such as cruise missile bombardments. This role in longer endurance/range and more weapons intensive missions is the reason for why I think 055's production run may be meaningfully greater than medium.
One could of course ask -- why not just use two 052Ds instead of a single 055 for a blue water mission/cruise missile bombardment mission? Well, that is a sensible question, and the answer will have to be to look at cost effectiveness. How much will the cost of two 052Ds be, when considering not only the crewing/operating cost for the two destroyers, but also potentially the need for resupply of the ships (which may need to call on an AOR more frequently than an 055), not to mention the total unit cost of the two 052Ds put at risk in that situation... and it all needs to be compared back to having an equivalent 055 do that mission.
That said, having two 052Ds also offers some flexibility; i.e.: they can patrol more waters than a single ship, and they can investigate two things at once whereas a single 055 cannot.
But these are the pretty standard cost/benefit analyses one would look at when considering a smaller number of larger/costlier/more capable/longer range ships vs a larger number of smaller/cheaper/less capable/shorter range ships.
Based on my own projections of what the Chinese Navy's missions and requirements will be in coming decades, based on the consistent rumours that 055 will likely be a 12k-13k ton destroyer/cruiser, and based on my own estimates of how many CSGs, ESGs, the Navy will have and the escort composition of those groups, that is how I eventually reached my 2:1:1 ratio of frigates:medium destroyers:large destroyers, or about 48 frigates, ~24 medium destroyers and ~24 large destroyers.
I can go into more detail about that thought process if you want, but please do remember I'm not saying that this projection is definitely going to occur, or that other projections are not as equally viable.
Also remember that there are obviously lots of ways to critique the way in which any sort of projection was reached, and I'm not intending this to be any sort of watertight argument.
But I do think I have presented a viable force projection, one which has a healthy balance of frigates, medium destroyers and large destroyers for the Navy's future missions, and I don't think it is any more or less realistic than the sort of orbats which have been thrown around by others either.
While everyone remembers what US has both CGs(Tico class) and DDGs(Burke series) as blue water combatants - it's worth remembering, what Burkes essentially displaced both FFGs and CGs from construction sequence, and CGs are only upgraded and only due to their command capability. Withoug it, - second helicopter, second gun and several additional rows of VLS tubes are sweet, but financially probably aren't really worth it - pure Burke line would be cheaper to maintain.
(LCS =/= FFG)
This is a separate discussion that I'll leave to one side.
