other industrialised countries, working together with China, will have to develop and implement programmes in the rural and disadvantaged areas, outside the booming cities, to combat increasing inequalities and create educational opportunities for the majority of the Chinese population who live there; 16. Recognises nonetheless that, despite improved economic prospects for many Chinese, this has not alleviated the need for more economic restructuring and a more even geographical spread of economic development to reduce the threat of even higher unemployment and social displacement in the future; 17. Expresses its concern at the steady rise in the number of industrial disputes since 1998; urges the PRC to authorise the establishment of independent trade unions and to institute at the earliest opportunity a social protection system geared primarily towards the unemployed, whose numbers are set to swell as a result of China’s accession to the WTO; 18. Notes the claim sometimes made by Community documents and officials that China's accession to the WTO is creating a dynamic economic environment in China and transforming its economy into an export-driven economy, but also realises that China's potential rests with a vast territory and a population where only the inhabitants of the richest areas located along the coast form a market, both characteristics of a 'continental economy' driven by internal demand, meaning that there is a need for the Chinese authorities to build up efficient internal cohesion policies; 19. Is aware of the fact that with China's entry to the WTO, WTO rules and procedures will define a new context of economic and political relations of China with the US and EU (and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well), and China will have to separate business from government, which will imply a serious change in the framing of economic development of China; 20. Welcomes in this regard the cooperation agreements that the EU has with China in the field of social security, given the high level of unemployment already existing in China, which is likely to grow; 21. Notes that China and the EU are already major trading partners and welcomes the continued growth in EU-China trade and the rising levels of EU direct investment in China; expects that the implementation by China of its terms of accession will contribute in a major way to reducing barriers to trade and investment, and entail a more balanced trading relationship; 22. Notes that, while existing programmes such as the EU-China Scholarship 2000 Project Programme and the Junior Managers Project Programme between the EU and China to promote reciprocal exchanges in the field of technology and know-how have achieved some success, they must be stepped up; 23. Notes that the strengthening of EU-China relations and the expansion of EU-China dialogue across the board render the existing EU-China trade and cooperation agreement largely obsolete, and calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals for an updated partnership agreement, in line with the development of a consistent and comprehensive EU common strategy towards China;