Cui Tiankai (sixth from left), Chinese ambassador to the US; Antony J. Blinken (sixth from right), US Deputy Secretary of State; Hamdullah Mohib (fifth from right), Afghanistan ambassador to the US; and Jarrett Blanc (fourth from right), acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the State Department for the opening of the Fourth US-China Training Program for Afghan Diplomats in Washington on Wednesday. DONG LESHUO / CHINA DAILY

The Fourth US-China Training Program for Afghan diplomats started in Washington on Wednesday.

The four-week training program, jointly organized by the Chinese and US governments since 2012, provides 15 entry-level Afghan diplomats two weeks of training in China and two weeks in the US.

“This program has become a good case of China-US cooperation in Afghanistan,” Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the US, said.

“I am happy to see that this program has become one of the deliverables on the agenda of the summit between President Xi and President Obama,” Cui said.

Wang Yi, foreign minister of China, sent a congratulatory letter to the program.

“The program has enhanced the mutual understanding among China, the US and Afghanistan, and shows the international community’s support and commitment to Afghanistan’s peace and reconstruction. It is a good model for China-US cooperation in a third country,” Wang wrote.

“This is a signature project in cooperation between the US and China,” Antony J. Blinken, US deputy secretary of state, said.

“It is one of the many visible ways in which our two countries demonstrate that China and the US have shared interests and shared perspectives on Afghanistan and this region,” Blinken said.

China, the US and Afghanistan will extend the program to the training of Afghanistan’s agricultural and healthcare personnel this year, according to Wang.

The Meridian International Center has been working with the State Department on the Afghan diplomats program.

“We try to cover lots of different topics so that they can have different jobs like public diplomacy, negotiations, working with media, and then we are going to the Chinese embassy and they are also meeting with some think tanks and universities,” said Sean Callaghan, program officer at Meridian International Center. “So we are really talking about different topics that would be useful to young diplomats.”

“It is a very interesting program and we are going to China,” Majabeen Sullani, one of this year’s 15 participants, told China Daily. “We want some experience from the class and we are also sharing stories. We thank China and the US for this opportunity.”

Ahmad Shah participated in the program in 2013 and now works as the second secretary in the Afghan embassy in Washington.

“It is a fantastic program,” Shah said. “It is very helpful that they share their experiences with us. I learned a lot from it.”

“My impression of Beijing was that it is very large because it has the biggest population in the world. It was really nice,” said Hadeia Amiry, another former participant of the program who is now third secretary at the Afghan embassy. “If I get a chance, I will go to China again.”

China hopes to see a united, stable and growing Afghanistan that lives in harmony with its neighbors, according to Wang. China supports the efforts made by the Afghan government and its people to lead the country in achieving peace and development and supports the “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” reconciliation process, Wang added.

China will strengthen support for peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan and enhance Afghanistan-related international and regional cooperation. China will continue to play a constructive role in pushing for an early settlement of the issue of Afghanistan, according to Wang.

Pan Jialiang in Washington contributed to the story.