Not meant for the PLAAF. For Civilian aeronautics. And why rent or charter ... when you can be Self-reliant with your own "An-22" or a "Super Guppy".
I’m going to preface this by saying this will be getting into the realm of off topic then and might be better served in the civilian aviation industry thread.
However, I am interested in the topic and would like to learn more myself.
My amateur opinion... For civil applications, it’s really tough to justify XL sized planes, look at the failure of the A380. The huge population of Asia was supposed to be the ideal market, but it just didn’t work out that way in practice. On the cargo side, it’s significantly cheaper to get used 747 or 767 than a whole new plane. The efficiency of a larger plane simply can’t match the savings in up front capital cost. Even from the military standpoint, there was a desire for Boeing to keep building C-17 (though not enough firm orders), but no one is saying more C-5’s are needed.
If you think of it this way, self reliance is not simply the ability to do everything yourself. There is also economic self reliance and whether the cost is justified or you could be better off spending that money elsewhere.
Going back to the military side now. Right now it is more critical to spend the money in getting WS-20 right, and CJ-1000 off the ground. These have more practical and immediate applications, so are probably even more important from a self reliance standpoint.
