Ecuadorian National Assembly lifts visa control for Chinese visitors

Ecuador's National Assembly approved on Tuesday a bilateral agreement with China, allowing the nationals of the two countries to visit the other country with no visas.

The new regulation was passed with the support of 95 lawmakers out of 112, after initially being agreed by the two sides in January 2015 and then ratified by Ecuador's Constitutional Court.

The bill was then submitted to the Assembly for a vote after being approved by the body's international relations committee, which said it would "promote the principle of universal citizenship."

Once it enters into force, this law will allow Chinese and Ecuadorian citizens to enter, leave and transit through each other's countries without a visa, the Assembly said in a press release.

Chinese citizens will be able to stay in Ecuador for a single stay of up to 90 days over the course of a year with no visa while Ecuadorians will be able to visit China for 30 days, although usable on multiple trips in the course of a year.

"The difference in the timeframes is due to the different immigration systems each country possesses," said the press release.

In 2006, China named Ecuador an authorized tourism destination, said Dora Aguirre, president of the Assembly's international relations committee.

Between 2012 and 2015, a total of 11,552 Ecuadorians visited China while 61,160 Chinese visitors arrived in the South American country. Enditem