Ping.
The PLAN is well behind the US in Nuclear submarine technology. But they are making great strides now, as they are with everything else.
There five old Type 091 Han class SSNs are vintage. They have decommissioned two and have three that are sea worthy. But they would be immediate toast in any combat sutuation against any modern US, UK, Korean, Japanese, or Australian sub or surface combatant. They are good however for surveillance and patrol duties. And they would reak havoc against commercial shipping.
They built two Type 093 Shang subs in the mid 2000s. They wanted these to be as good as our initial LA class boats, but they fell short in quieting. They are far better than their Hans, but still three generations behind the US. They stopped building them at two.
They have since improved the bunch with the Type 093B Shangs and they may be as good as the initial LA class boats. But our imprived LA class boats are a lot better, not to mention the Sea Wolf class and the Virginia cClass we are now building.
The Chinese are now building a new variety, the Type 095 SSN which may be as good or better than our intial LA class boats.
With their SSBN Nuclear missile subs, for the longest time they had the one, the Type 092 Xia. It does carry SLBMs, but they are relatively short range, and the boat is loud. We would find it in an instant and probably always know exactly where it is at all times.
They built four Type 094 Jin class SSBNs. Two are in service and two are in trials. They carry up to 16 missiles that are much longer range, and they are quieter...but no where near as quiet as our Ohio class SSBNs or the UKs Vanguard class for example. we would find them relatively quickly, but they can hit a lot of our Western Pacific Bases, Hawaii and Alaska and never leave the China Sea, so they are a part of the Chinese deterrent. Their newer missiles, and the newer class they are building can hit well into the central areas of the Mainland.
They are supposed to be quieter still, but noe have been completed yet, and they will probably build a maximum of four of the boats over 9 years once they are.
As it is, with their SSNs, which they will use to protect the SSBNNs and the aircraft carriers, the Type 093 Class SSNs can be dangerous, and should not be underestimated. In the hands of a good captain, one of ouer older, initial LA Class boats is also dangerous and not to be taken for granted, but they are still far behind our latest technologies. We have just launched our 11th Virginia Class SSN.
We will have to see how quiet they make their new Type 095 SSNs, but they will build two of them at first and it would be a long, long time before they had them in any numbers...and they will still be at least one or more generations behind our boats.