Wang said the program helps increase understanding between China, the US and Afghanistan and reflects the concerted efforts of the international community in supporting the peace and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

"China is willing to join the US and the international community to continue to do all it can to provide assistance to Afghanistan and to make positive efforts in promoting reconstruction and regional peace, stability and development," said Wang, who will arrive in DC this week for talks with John Kerry.

Bonnie Glaser, senior advisor for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the US has been seeking to promote cooperation with China on Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years.

"So far, some progress has been made on Afghanistan," she said, referring to the establishment of the joint training program for Afghan diplomats.

"There are also plans to establish training programs for nurses and agricultural experts. This is a very good example of how the US and China can engage in 'practical cooperation' to build a new type of major power relationship," Glaser said.

She said through such programs, the US and China can provide assistance to countries in the Asia-Pacific region, build habits of cooperation, and ease regional concerns about US-Chinese strategic competition.

"Cooperation on Pakistan has proven more difficult so far, given China's close ties to that country and US strains with Pakistan," she said.

Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is skeptical of China and US cooperation on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"China is Pakistan's ally, America has an increasingly difficult and even hostile relationship with Pakistan. Looking ahead, I see two power blocks, China and Pakistan competing with America and India, in Asia," he said.

Peace, security, stability and economic development of the region have been a top concern for the Chinese government.

At last week's Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a plan for a Silk Road economic belt that includes mostly nations in Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

SCO, set up in Shanghai in 2001, now has six members of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Mongolia, which now attend as observers, are likely to become members in the coming years.

On Aug 6, a trilateral talk between China, Pakistan and Afghanistan was held in Beijing with pundits and diplomats discussing the prospects of peace, security and stability in the region, especially after the upcoming withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

In April of this year, senior diplomats from China, Russia and Afghanistan gathered in Beijing for a trilateral talk on Afghanistan.

China has maintained close ties with Pakistan for decades. In Afghanistan, China has been active in providing assistance and making investments.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/17/2013 page1)