European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao later this week in a bid to give a further boost to Europe's rapidly growing ties with China, officials said Wednesday. Barroso's official visit to - the first since he took over as head of the European Union executive last November - will last from July 14-18, DPA reported. "The E.U. is deeply committed to developing its strategic partnership with China," Barroso said before leaving for Beijing. "The E.U. has just surpassed the U.S. to become China's largest trading partner. And China is our second largest," Barroso said. "Our challenge now is to understand China's dramatic re-emergence, to learn to work better with this tremendous country and seize the opportunities provided by its unprecedented growth," he added. Barroso is set to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao for talks on enhancing political and trade links. Preparations for an E.U.-China summit are also on the agenda. The E.U. recently slapped an array of restrictions on surging exports of Chinese textiles and clothing. Rising sales of Chinese footwear in the E.U. are also under investigation. --More 2125 Local Time 1825 GMT
