Trade ties with China are helping Brazil to cope with a sluggish economy, said Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Mr Levy made his remarks during the Annual Meetings of World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, held in Peru over the weekend. China is Brazil’s largest trade partner.

“Brazil is a broad-based economy; we have a lot of flexibility [in our commercial ties] with China,” said Mr Levy, quoted by Xinhua.

Brazil is undergoing its worst economic crisis in 25 years. The International Monetary Fund last week predicted the country’s GDP would contract by 3 percent this year, revising a previous estimate of a 1.5 percent decrease.

Mr Levy added that the rebalancing of China’s economy was not negatively impacting the South American nation. “Brazil is not in a bad situation due to China’s transformation,” he stated.