China will not fill the void left by the US after its military troops pulled out of Afghanistan but the Chinese government will provide commercial assistance to help the latter rebuild itself, said special envoy Sun Yuxi.

China is quietly preparing to take on more responsibility in Afghanistan after most of the U.S. troops stationed there withdraw at the end of the year.

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Western officials predict China will emerge with a as a major player in Afghanistan, but Sun said China's role is limited mostly to commercial aspects, Reuters detailed.

Western officials also criticized China for benefiting from the U.S. security campaigns that wiped out an Al Qaeda stronghold at the Chinese border, leading to the international exploitation of Afghan resources.

So far, China's contribution to Afghanistan's reconstruction since the Islamist regime was ousted in 2001 totals to US$250 million.

Moreover, Chinese security support was mostly related to counter-narcotics training.

A group of Chinese investors is working on a US$3-billion copper production deal in Afghanistan, which holds one of the world's biggest deposits.

Unfortunately, the project is on hold because of rebel attacks.

China expects to increase its economic involvement in Afghanistan to help the country achieve stability.

Sun said China will have a "huge" participation in the Afghan reconstruction by helping it decrease "weaponry" and increase its wealth.

Sun said cooperation on the Afghan situation is one of the key points in the often-shaky U.S-China relations.

He explained that China welcomes the withdrawal of U.S. troops to establish the Afghan government's hold over security.

He also praised plans of the U.S. to retain some of its military bases for some time to observe the situation and help the Afghans combat terrorism.

Meanwhile, China is worried that ethnic Uighur leftists in the Xinjiang region will pounce on the first sign of chaos in Afghanistan.

Authorities believe the Uighur militants have strongholds in the unmonitored areas of the Afghan-Pakistani border.

China blames Islamist militants for a recent string of terror attacks that left around 200 people dead.