Why VLS counts need like-for-like ship comparisons

Do higher VLS counts on Chinese destroyers show that they are better armed than Italian ships?

Not without comparing like with like: destroyers differ from frigates and patrol vessels, while Italy's PPA variants span very different armament levels.

Any comparison must first identify which Italian ships are being set against the Chinese destroyers. A destroyer should normally carry more vertical-launch cells than a patrol vessel or frigate, so the raw count does not by itself reveal a design failure. Italy was not then building a directly comparable destroyer. The Thaon di Revel PPA family complicates the comparison further because its lightly fitted ships are patrol vessels while the Full variant approaches a light frigate. Ranking unlike warship types by one visible number gives a misleading result.