Tourists wear rented astronaut costumes while visiting Volcano #6 of the the Ulan Hada volcano cluster during the Golden Week holiday on October 4, 2021 near Ulan Qab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) 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 illegally after trekking north through Latin America, motivated by economic opportunities in the US during a slowdown in China.
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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.”