China and the United States share broad common interests and major responsibilities in peace and development, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said in Honolulu on October 26.

Jiang made the remark in his toast at the luncheon hosted in his honor by Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris.

The Chinese president arrived here this morning on the first stop on his nine-day state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Bill Clinton.

Immediately after his arrival, Jiang visited the Arizona National Memorial where, Jiang said, he "acquired more firsthand knowledge of the Pearl Harbor Incident which shocked the world."

In World War II, which brought untold sufferings to mankind, Chinese and Americans fought shoulder to shoulder against fascists, and safeguarded world peace with other peoples of the world, Jiang noted.

Honolulu is a familiar name for the Chinese people. At the end of last century, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, set up China's first revolutionary organization - the Revive China Society, in Honolulu.

More than a hundred years later, Zhongshan City, the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, became a sister city of Honolulu.

Jiang said he was confident that through the joint efforts of China and the United States, the friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries would develop further.

Harris said it is significant that President Jiang chose Honolulu to start his first state visit to the United States.

Honolulu's cultural and historical ties with China serve as a bridge for the city to be China's gateway to the United States, he said.

The mayor said that for more than 200 years, Honolulu residents of Chinese ancestry have played a vital role in the development of Hawaii.

After the luncheon, President Jiang met representatives of overseas Chinese and Chinese Americans in Hawaii, and briefed them on China's reform and opening up as well as economic achievements.