Ｓｙｍｂｉｏｔｉｃ　Ｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｓｈｉｐ

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In May 1975，Sir Christipher Soames， the first European Commissioner to visit China，touched down in Beijing on a mis-sion to lay the foundation for a fledgling Sino-European relationship. Now 33 years later, the current President of European Union Commission Jose Manuel Barroso led a high-ranking delegation of nine commis-sioners back to the nation's capital to foster an EU strategic partnership with China. The EU described it as the largest joint mission abroad of the European Commission for a single meeting in its 50 years of existence.