A Chinese expert team on Monday delivered medical aid to Iraq as part of China's efforts to increase Iraq's capabilities of combating the spread of COVID-19.

At a ceremony at the Chinese embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Tao Zhongquan, head of the Chinese team, handed over the aid, including lab equipment and medical supplies, to Hassan al-Tamimi, director general of the Medical City facility in Baghdad.

"The goal of the visit of the Chinese expert team to Baghdad is to share the Chinese experience with their Iraqi counterparts," Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Zhang Tao said, adding that a new laboratory will be established to diagnose the novel coronavirus next week.

"We have received the equipment and will get trained. We will learn from the Chinese experience. We will also build a professional treatment center, with 300 beds, which can provide testing and treatment," said Hassan al-Tamimi, director general of the Medical City facility in Baghdad.

Al-Tamimi hailed China's efforts to help Iraq, asserting that China has great experience in treatment and diagnosis of the coronavirus.

"In the coming days we will witness more cooperation in the field of training the Iraqi physicians and the medical workers on how to treat this disease," al-Tamimi added.

He believed that the Iraqi medics will make progress with the Chinese support through learning how to create the mechanisms of preventing the virus transmission, gaining better knowledge of its initial diagnosis and treatment, and following up the patients after recovery.

On March 7, the seven-member Chinese expert team arrived in Baghdad to help Iraq fight the novel coronavirus. The team is expected to stay in the country for one month.

As of Tuesday, Iraq has reported 124 confirmed cases.

(With input from Xinhua)