NEW YORK, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A prominent U.S. businessman said Friday that the Shanghai Expo is better than any similar previous event.

Chairman and CEO of the U.S. Greater China Corporation, John W. Allen, told Xinhua in an email interview after watching the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Expo that "like the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai Expo is bigger and better than any previous such event and will definitely set the standard for the future."

"It will be a hard act to follow," he added.

Allen has been involved in Asia and China for over 30 years. He was assistant to James D. Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank, and served as a Trustee of Soros's Open Society. He was also one of three Trustees of the International Science Foundation along with George Soros and Nobel Laureate James Watson.