Jeffrey A. Bader, director of the China Initiative at the Brookings Institute, made an interesting speech in September 2006 in Calgary on the subject of China's rise, and what it means to Americans. China has been characterized by a U.S. Defense Department report prepared in 2005 as the country most likely to emerge as a military "peer competitor" to the United States. This characterization was based on, inter alia: 
- China’s spectacular economic growth, which is expected to continue, albeit at a somewhat slower pace, for a generation;
- A rate of growth in military expenditures of approximately 12% per year for the last decade;
- Impressive improvements in China’s capabilities in the areas of ICBM deployment and missile and guidance technology, diesel submarines, cruise missiles, fighter aircraft development, and space technologies.