Kenneth Quinn, president of The World Food Prize Foundation,?shared his perspectives on Sino-American relations during a Vision China event in New York on Tuesday.

He recalled the February 2012 visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Muscatine, Iowa, where Xi talked about and quoted Mark Twain, and about seeing the sun over the Mississippi River.

"To have someone who is a head of state, but of another country, speak about my country that way, was so impactful, so dramatic. It left a very, very deep impression on me," said Quinn, former US ambassador to Cambodia.

The forum, "China-US Relations: 40 Years & Beyond", hosted by China Daily and Bank of China, featured commentary by experts involved in Sino-American relations.