Tin symbolically represented German industrial centre (5)
I believe the answer is:
essen
'german industrial centre' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for essen that I've seen before include "German place name" , "German industrial centre" , "Krupp HQ (Ger.)" , "European city" , "German industrial city on the Ruhr" .)