Juncker has a host of challenges and a wall of apathy to deal with

A Chinese friend accompanied a climate delegation on its visits to Berlin and Brussels earlier this month when the United States and China ratified the Paris Climate Agreement at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. When he met me later in Brussels, he was eager to know about the situation in the European Union, especially because of the challenges the bloc faced at this crucial time in history.

I had a hard time convincing him that the future is not as gloomy as he feared, partly because the climate delegation's experience in Berlin was disheartening as two of its members had their passports and wallets stolen while dining at a restaurant.

But I wouldn't put Berlin in the category of unsafe EU cities, which unfortunately Paris, Brussels and Rome have become for Chinese tourists. Five years ago, I had forgotten my wallet in a roadside eatery in Berlin. When I went there a day later, the waiter smilingly returned it tome.