Unlike the US the PLAN does not seem to want to use Type 055s for long distance patrols on their own like the US does with the Burke DDGs. They just seem to be used as air defense cover for the carrier battle groups like the Ticos. Still I kind of wonder why they aren't building more Type 055s at least to provide air cover for the LHDs.
Anyway, just think of it this way, the Type 055 basically matches the Ticos, and the Type 052D the Arleigh Burke in PLAN doctrine. A lot of long distance missions are also done with smaller frigates which the US currently lacks. And the area of coverage of operations of the PLAN is much smaller than the US Navy's. In short the average Chinese PLAN ship doing the same mission has lower displacement than a US one. Partly because the Chinese go in much shorter range missions on average.
This is going to get lopsided as the Arleigh Burke Flight III larger ships come in and the Ticos get phased out, plus the new US Constellation frigates start showing up. But for now it is how things are.
It's really not accurate to compare 052D with AB destroyers. They are not in the same category in my opinion. AB should be considered midsize DDGs while 052D are small size DDGs.
Most of the Burkes in service are Flight IIA and they have 96 VLS cells and displaces over 9500 tons. Even the older Flight I and II displaces 8300 and 8400 tons; both carrying 90 VLS cells. And going down the list, the CEC, radars, and multitude of missiles that the AB carriers allows all of them to function in Anti-surface, anti-sub, anti-air and Ballistic missiles defense.
Meanwhile 052D (7500 tons) carries only HQ-9 for mid to long range engagements and YJ-18 for anti-surface roles with only 64 cells. Thus it is severely limited in magazines amount it can bring to a fight compared to a Burke and this is made worse by the fact that PLAN doesn't even have a quad-pack SAM.
PLAN doesn't have a comparable DDG to the Burke class. 052D isn't it. It is a small-size DDGs that PLAN needed to start with before moving on to bigger vessels. It didn't have to be big because it had the benefit of sailing not too far from the mainland. It's cheap and the production line is so streamline than PLAN can keep churning to make up numbers real fast.
Over time if PLAN wants to maintain a constant presence past the first 2 island chains, it will need a mid-size DDG or can keep builidng more large/heavy-size DDGs aka 055.
And actually, 052D is closer to a large FFG more than anything, while 055 is closer to a Cruiser.
