WITH CHINA.  I SEE ECUADOR HAS BACKED OUT ON THEIR DEAL WITH CHINA!

Ecuador stops waiving visas for Chinese nationals because of an increase in irregular migration

Ecuador, one of the only two mainland countries in the Americas that offer visa-free entry to Chinese nationals, has become a popular starting point for Chinese migrants who would then trek northward through Central America before entering the United States. The other country is the Republic of Suriname.

The Washington-based think tank Niskanen Center, citing official data by the Ecuadorian government, said that Chinese nationals entered Ecuador 48,381 times in 2023 but only left 24,240 times. The difference of 24,141 was the highest of any nationality, according to Niskanen.

Lin said the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Ecuador first came into effect in 2016.

As bilateral relations are stabilizing, Beijing has resumed cooperation with Washington to repatriate Chinese nationals who are in the United States illegally.

The number of Chinese immigrants entering the United States rose drastically last year, when U.S. border officials arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals on the southern border, 10 times the number during the previous year.