Peru defends 'good trade partner'

Peru's trade minister defended China as a good trade partner on Tuesday, after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Latin American countries against excessive reliance on economic ties with the Asian country.

Eduardo Ferreyros said Peru's 2010 trade liberalization deal with China had allowed the Andean nation of about 30 million people to post a $2.74 billion trade surplus with Beijing last year.

"China is a good trade partner," Ferreyros told foreign media, as Tillerson met with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Lima, a stop on Tillerson's five-nation Latin American tour. "We're happy with the results of the trade agreement."