China poses a threat to people and peace in the region, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who hosted an enhanced honor cordon and meeting, welcoming Peruvian Defense Minister Walter Astudillo and Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer to the Pentagon today.

“Beijing is investing and operating in the region for unfair economic gain, and together, in order to prevent conflict, we need to robustly deter China’s potential threats in the hemisphere. So we look forward to being partners with you in that regard,” Hegseth said.

The United States is grateful for Peru’s partnership in working to achieve peace through strength, the secretary said.

“Putting America first also means we’re putting the Americas first,” he said.

The U.S. and Peru share a lot of the same challenges and common threats that require a very serious response, he said.

“We’re making progress on things like trafficking and migration, violent criminal enterprises, folks that are threatening and brutalizing our communities,” Hegseth said.

The secretary said he’s hoping to attend the Conference of Defense Ministers in the Americas next year, which Peru is hosting.

Astudillo said Peru and other Latin American nations, like the U.S., face problems that affect security and development such as migration, drug trafficking and other crimes.

That is why all the countries of the hemisphere need to come together to effectively respond to these transnational problems, he said.

Schialer said that while Peru and the U.S. have a strategic relationship, Peru would like to upgrade it to a comprehensive or integral strategic relationship.

“The United States of America is one of a very, very important friend of ours, a very good ally, also a historic ally in many things,” he said.