Ecuador Halts China Visa Deal Due to ‘Irregular Immigration’

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

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

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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.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that the visa agreement with Ecuador “has played a positive role in bilateral personnel exchanges and cooperation in various fields.”

(Updates with response from China.)

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