---
title: "Ecuador halts China visa deal due to ‘irregular immigration’"
description: "Ecuador temporarily stopped a visa agreement with China, citing “a worrying increase in migratory flows from” the Asian nation in recent months."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-06-19-ecuador-halts-china-visa-deal-due-to-irregular-immigration/"
published: "2024-06-19T05:45:39"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 128
---

# Ecuador halts China visa deal due to ‘irregular immigration’

> Ecuador temporarily stopped a visa agreement with China, citing “a worrying increase in migratory flows from” the Asian nation in recent months.

By Bloomberg · Published 19 June 2024, 07:45 SAST

## Content

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of the South American nation said in a statement on Tuesday that the arrivals either stayed “in an irregular immigration situation or would have left through irregular routes to other destinations in the Hemisphere”.

Some Chinese nationals have been [crossing the US border](https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/us-border-crossings-by-chinese-nationals-raise-alarm-rhetoric) illegally after trekking north through Latin America, motivated by economic opportunities in the US during [a slowdown](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-06-11/guangdong-is-feeling-the-brunt-of-china-s-economic-slowdown) in China.

Read More: [A New Wave of Chinese Middle-Class Migrants Is Coming to the US](https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-chinese-migrants-us-border/)

When asked about Ecuador potentially halting the visa agreement on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the deal “has played an important and positive role in promoting cross-border travel and practical cooperation in various fields”.

It added that Beijing “firmly opposes all forms of human smuggling.”