The 8th Vision China talks was held in New York Tuesday. Diplomats, business leaders, economists and other witnesses to the relationship shared their vision on the past and future of the 40-year relationship at the event hosted by China Daily and Bank of China at Asia Society.

Here are some highlights of comments from the audience.

Nicholas Platt, accompanied President Richard Nixon on his historic trip to Beijing in 1972, and was responsible for organizing a China tour for the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973.

"I don't agree with people in Washington who think that China is our adversary. China is too big to contain, and the relationship between China and the United States too complicated to take apart. … That relationship is like an iceberg: one sees the sharp-edged part that's above the water, but there's a big lump underneath, below the water line, that provides the stability."