Afghan president heads to Beijing for talks as Nato troops quit war-torn country

Afghanistan and China pledged a new long-term partnership with each other as Kabul's new president Ashraf Ghani began a four-day visit while Nato combat troops prepare to withdraw from his country.

Ghani was sworn in as Afghanistan's head of state last month in the war-torn Asian nation's first democratic transfer of power. His first state visit as president is to China, which is seeking greater investment opportunities in Afghanistan.

"We look at China as a strategic partner, in the short term, medium term, long term and very long term," he told President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. Xi's "vision" for the continent had opened "not just a new chapter for Asia, but an entirely new book", he said.

Hailing Ghani as "an old friend of the Chinese people", Xi said he was prepared to work towards "a new era of cooperation in China-Afghanistan relations" to "take development to a new depth and breadth".

China has secured major oil and copper mining concessions in Afghanistan, which is believed to have more than US$1 trillion worth of mineral resources, according to studies by the US Geological Survey.