China's foreign minister meets counterparts from Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay and Cuba

BEIJING, May 12 (Reuters) - China's foreign minister on Monday met with his counterparts from Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay and Cuba in Beijing, statements released by China's foreign ministry said.

China is willing to work with countries in the Global South to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, Chinese minister Wang Yi told Uruguay's Mario Lubetkin, one of the statements said.

Wang told Venezuelan foreign minister that the two countries should advance cooperation in agriculture, trade, energy and mining, according to a separate statement.