BAGHDAD -- Chinese and Iraqi officials on Thursday expressed keenness to strengthen bilateral ties and boost cooperation in various fields, including facilitating visa applications, Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.

During a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao and Hamid Abbas, head of Iraqi Foreign Ministry's Asia and Australia Department, the two sides discussed issues of common interest and vowed to enhance bilateral cooperation, the ministry said in a statement.

They reviewed the results of Zhang's meetings earlier with a number of Iraqi ministers, in addition to discussing measures to facilitate visa applications by the citizens of the two countries, according to the statement.

During the meeting, the two sides "expressed their great keenness to strengthen cooperation to upgrade the level of bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in all fields," it added.

On May 5, Zhang said in an interview with the Iraqi media that the volume of the trade exchange between China and Iraq exceeded $30 billion in 2018.

China is considered as the biggest trading partner of Iraq, while Iraq is the second biggest oil supplier to China and the fourth biggest trading partner of China in the Middle East, the Chinese envoy added.