WASHINGTON, March 31 -- The United Statessupports China's efforts to develop infrastructure in Central Asia and sees them as "complementary" to Washington's engagement in the region, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.

"We don't see China's involvement in Central Asia in zero-sum terms," Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "Its development of infrastructure in Central Asia can be fully complementary to our own efforts."

"In particular, we see an important role for China in supporting the transition in Afghanistanand advancing its own integration into the broader Asian region," Blinken said at an event in Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

The United States supports China's efforts to "connect the region", and is looking at ways to "more effectively coordinate" with China in this regard, he added.

The senior U.S. diplomat also hoped that China's efforts to develop infrastructure in central Asia would "advance trade in all directions and adhere to international norms."

In his address, Blinken laid out the vision for the U.S. policy in Central Asia and refuted the notion that a drawdown of American forces from Afghanistan means the region is of declining importance to Washington.