An air conditioning apparatus having a refrigerant circuit configured by connecting a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first expansion valve, a receiver, an opening/closing valve (26, 27), and an indoor heat exchanger; wherein a fully-closing expansion valve that is fully closed by a needle sitting on a valve seat is used as the first expansion valve, and the first expansion valve is provided to the refrigerant circuit in a first disposed state in which refrigerant from the receiver flows in from a needle advancing direction side of the valve seat, and out to a needle retracting direction side of the valve seat through a gap between the needle and the valve seat, the needle advancing direction being the direction in which the needle moves when the needle sits on the valve seat, and the needle retracting direction being the direction in which the needle moves when the needle retracts from the valve seat; the first expansion valve provided to the refrigerant circuit in the first disposed state has a spring for urging the needle seated on the valve seat in the needle advancing direction when the valve is fully closed, and is configured so that the needle is released from sitting on the valve seat when the urging force of the spring in the needle advancing direction is overcome by a force pushing the needle in the needle retracting direction as generated by a counter-pressure valve-opening pressure difference, which is the difference between refrigerant pressure in a space on the needle retracting direction side of the valve seat and refrigerant pressure in a space on the needle advancing direction side of the valve seat; and the first expansion valve is provided to a portion of a liquid refrigerant pipe that is between the outdoor heat exchanger and the receiver; characterised in that the receiver is provided between the first expansion valve and the opening/closing valve (26, 27). a fully-closing expansion valve that is fully closed by a needle sitting on a valve seat is used as the first expansion valve, and the first expansion valve is provided to the refrigerant circuit in a first disposed state in which refrigerant from the receiver flows in from a needle advancing direction side of the valve seat, and out to a needle retracting direction side of the valve seat through a gap between the needle and the valve seat, the needle advancing direction being the direction in which the needle moves when the needle sits on the valve seat, and the needle retracting direction being the direction in which the needle moves when the needle retracts from the valve seat; the first expansion valve provided to the refrigerant circuit in the first disposed state has a spring for urging the needle seated on the valve seat in the needle advancing direction when the valve is fully closed, and is configured so that the needle is released from sitting on the valve seat when the urging force of the spring in the needle advancing direction is overcome by a force pushing the needle in the needle retracting direction as generated by a counter-pressure valve-opening pressure difference, which is the difference between refrigerant pressure in a space on the needle retracting direction side of the valve seat and refrigerant pressure in a space on the needle advancing direction side of the valve seat; and the first expansion valve is provided to a portion of a liquid refrigerant pipe that is between the outdoor heat exchanger and the receiver; characterised in that the receiver is provided between the first expansion valve and the opening/closing valve (26, 27).