Abadi talks military and trade ties with Chinese officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is on a two-day official visit to China where he is set to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping for talks on the current war in Iraq and trade ties between the two countries.

China was the biggest buyer of Iraqi oil last year, buying approximately 22% of its oil exports. 

Abadi told China's Xinhua news agency, before leaving on his trip, that, "we are looking forward to increasing our oil production and exports, and I believe that China can contribute to this field."

Abadi hopes to further broaden the relations saying that his country is "seeking to promote such relations in all aspects, in particular in investment and rebuilding infrastructure." 

"I believe China has great abilities to invest in Iraq which has oil that can be a guarantee to any investment in Iraq," the Prime Minister said. 

The two leaders also aim to strengthen military ties.

Abadi also said that he hopes to increase military ties given the fact that "Iraq is in a war condition and we hope for further military cooperation with China."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Iraq and China are seeking to establish a joint oil-marketing venture between Iraq's State Organization for the Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and the Chinese Sinopec refiner.