Ghani, who succeeded Hamid Karzai, was welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People and thanked him for reposing faith in China by visiting Beijing first.
Ghani, a US-based academic and former Finance Minister, arrived here today on a four-day visit during which he would also attend the International Peace Conference on Afghanistan to be attended among others by India.
Xi hailed Ghani as "an old friend of the Chinese people" and expressed his readiness to work towards "a new era of cooperation in China-Afghanistan relations" to "take development to a new depth and breadth".
Energy-hungry China is one of the biggest investors in Afghanistan's rich energy and mining sector, which according to US Geological Survey is estimated to have deposits worth about a trillion dollars.
Facing a major Islamic militancy in Xinjiang, China like other countries in the region is worried over US and NATO troops plans to pullout of Afghanistan in the next few months as it would open up possibilities for Taliban and Al Qaeda to stage a come back.