Testing claims about PLAN readiness

Can the Chinese Navy be dismissed as inexperienced, rarely at sea, undertrained, and undersupplied?

No. Chinese ships operate and train frequently, have seen past combat incidents, and receive heavy investment, although corruption, supply quality, and long-term sustainability remain difficult to assess from outside.

Frequent activity around Taiwan and in the South and East China Seas contradicts the claim that PLAN ships barely leave port. The lack of recent major combat is not the same as having no operational experience, and corruption purges are hard to interpret from outside. Cleaner paint does not prove superior readiness, since badly written US maintenance contracts partly explain visible differences between fleets.