United States praises China's growing role in Afghanistan --- (Reuters) - The United States welcomed China's growing role in trying to ensure Afghanistan's stability on Thursday, saying a Beijing conference of foreign ministers on Afghan reconstruction this week shows its commitment to the region as Western troops pull out. -- The comments, made by a senior State Department official, are rare U.S. praise for Beijing, which this week hosts Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on his first visit abroad since assuming office in September. -- Washington and Beijing, which have typically contentious relations on geopolitical issues from Iran to the South China Sea, have both said they see Afghanistan as a point where their security interests converge. -- On Tuesday, China pledged to give Afghanistan $327 million in aid through 2017, more than the $250 million contribution it has so far offered since the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. -- "China's view of engaging in Afghanistan over the course of these past few years has really changed significantly, and in our view, in a very positive direction," the official told reporters during a telephone briefing. -- On Friday, foreign ministers from Asian and Central Asian countries will gather in Beijing for a fourth round "Istanbul Process" conference on Afghanistan, which China hopes will help boost development and security there. White House counsellor John Podesta will attend the meeting. -- "It's a real demonstration of China's commitment to Afghanistan, to its role in the region and one that we greatly welcome," the official said. -- Additional support on counter-terrorism "would be very valuable", the official said, noting that improving coordination on "terror-finance" issues at the United Nations would be an area of U.S.-China discussion in the future. -- China, connected to Afghanistan by a narrow, almost impassable mountain corridor, has been preparing for more responsibility in Afghanistan after the bulk of U.S.-led troops pull out this year. -- It says it does not seek to fill a void left by the U.S. withdrawal but has promised to play a big commercial role in reconstruction. -- Read More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-usa-china-afghanistan-idUSKBN0IJ0C120141030