Ecuador’s Noboa to Make First State Visit to China
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa will pay a state visit to China from August 16 to 23 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. The visit marks Noboa’s first state visit to China and comes as the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership.
A Milestone in Bilateral Relations
The announcement, made by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, confirmed that President Xi will hold talks with Noboa, while Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji will meet with him separately. The spokesperson described Ecuador as “an important Latin American country” and noted that China and Ecuador are comprehensive strategic partners.
“Over recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Ecuador relations have maintained a sound momentum of growth,” the spokesperson said, citing the Belt and Road cooperation document and the bilateral free trade agreement as evidence of fruitful practical cooperation.
This year marks a decade since China and Ecuador elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1980, and Ecuador joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2018. The China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement, signed in May 2023, entered into force on May 1, 2024, gradually eliminating tariffs on approximately 90 percent of products.
A Broader Asian Tour
The state visit to China is part of a larger Asian tour scheduled from August 16 to 28, which also includes Vietnam and Singapore, according to Ecuadorian Presidential Decree No. 469, signed on August 12. Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the official tour from August 17 to 24, describing it as part of the government’s strategy to strengthen Ecuador’s international presence and pursue opportunities in trade, investment, cooperation, infrastructure, energy, technology, and sustainable development.
This will be Noboa’s second official visit to China, following his initial trip in June 2025, when he and President Xi witnessed the signing of a Belt and Road cooperation plan. The Xinhua News Agency reported the announcement on Friday, and People’s Daily Online also carried the story.
Economic Stakes: Trade and Pending Issues
China is Ecuador’s second-largest trading partner behind the United States, and the economic relationship extends well beyond commerce. According to Primicias, several key issues are expected to feature on the agenda during the visit.
Shrimp Export Suspensions: Fourteen Ecuadorian shrimp companies remain suspended from exporting to China due to alleged issues with sodium metabisulfite residue and white spot virus. China changed its testing methodology to include the head and shell of shrimp, increasing detection rates. The Ecuadorian government considers this a commercial rather than sanitary issue. Former Ecuadorian Minister of Production Luis Alberto Jaramillo told Primicias: “It’s a commercial issue and should be resolved commercially.” China is the main export market for Ecuadorian shrimp, accounting for 51 percent of market share from January to May 2026.
Coca Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Plant: Ecuador formally received the 1,500 MW plant from Sinohydro on April 17, 2026, after more than a decade of disputes over thousands of cracks in the water distributors. A proposed 25-year operation and maintenance contract with PowerChina (Sinohydro’s parent company) would cost approximately $46 million per year, totaling $1.15 billion over the contract period.
Mining Contract Renegotiations: Ecuador is renegotiating contracts with Chinese mining companies, including the Cascabel copper mine project (purchased by Jiangxi Copper in March 2026) and the Mirador copper mine Phase 2. The renegotiations could delay early production from the Cascabel project, originally scheduled for 2028.
Chinese Financing: Ecuador expects approximately $764 million in disbursements from Chinese banks in 2026 — $420 million from Eximbank and $344 million from China Development Bank — tied to specific investment projects.
The Geopolitical Balancing Act
Noboa’s visit to Beijing comes amid his administration’s pursuit of the closest US-Ecuador relationship in modern history. Washington has deployed 75,000 US military personnel to Ecuador for counter-narcotics operations, the FBI has opened its first permanent office in Quito, and a bilateral trade agreement signed in March 2026 grants tariff-free access for 53 percent of Ecuador’s non-oil exports to the US.
Yet Noboa has been explicit about the need to maintain commercial ties with China. In a March interview with CNN en Español, he stated: “I can’t fight with my second-largest trading partner.” The president has also emphasized that Ecuador cannot close itself off to commerce with nations that have become important partners over the past two decades, a stance that reflects the broader Latin American challenge of navigating between two superpowers.
The Rio Times noted that Noboa’s approach represents a pragmatic multi-alignment strategy — maintaining security cooperation with Washington while keeping commercial channels open with Beijing. Ecuador’s trade with Russia, which supports approximately 400,000 jobs in the banana and shrimp sectors, further illustrates this balancing approach.
What to Watch For
The state visit carries significant diplomatic weight. It marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership, represents Noboa’s first state visit at the highest level of diplomatic engagement, and signals China’s continued engagement with Latin America despite broader US-China tensions.
Key questions remain: Will the shrimp export suspensions be resolved during the visit? Will the PowerChina operation and maintenance contract be signed? What new agreements or investments might be announced? And how will Washington react to deepening China-Ecuador ties?
As the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed, China hopes the visit will “help further consolidate political mutual trust between the two countries, carry forward the traditional friendship, and achieve new progress in the comprehensive strategic partnership for the benefit of the two peoples.” The coming week in Beijing will reveal whether those hopes translate into concrete outcomes for both nations.