Xi, Ecuador’s Noboa Agree to Deepen Strategic Partnership
Chinese President Xi Jinping held official talks with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, agreeing to strengthen the alignment of development strategies and deepen cooperation across multiple sectors, according to Xinhua. The meeting marked the 10th anniversary of the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership and came during Noboa’s first state visit to China since taking office.
The visit, running from August 16 to 23 at Xi’s invitation, is also Noboa’s second trip to China following his initial visit in June 2025 for the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian. Following the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of multiple cooperation documents covering green industries, economic and trade cooperation, the digital economy, and people’s livelihoods.
A Decade of Strategic Partnership
China and Ecuador established diplomatic relations in 1980, formed a strategic partnership in 2015, and upgraded it to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 during Xi’s state visit to Ecuador. The two countries signed a Belt and Road Initiative memorandum of understanding in 2018 and launched their free trade agreement on May 1, 2024, making Ecuador China’s 27th free-trade partner and the fourth in Latin America.
During the talks, Xi said China has always viewed China-Ecuador relations from a strategic and long-term perspective regardless of how the international situation may change. “China is ready to work with Ecuador to continuously bring bilateral relations to a new level and better benefit the two peoples,” Xi said, as reported by CGTN.
Noboa described China as “an important partner and friend of Ecuador,” adding that through joint efforts, Ecuador-China relations have entered a new stage bringing tangible benefits to both peoples. He expressed Ecuador’s readiness to deepen political mutual trust with China and respect China’s position on the Taiwan question.
Trade Momentum and Cooperation Priorities
The economic dimension of the relationship has grown substantially. Bilateral trade reached $17.33 billion in 2025, up 24 percent year-on-year, with Ecuador’s exports to China rising 19.3 percent to $9.55 billion and generating a trade surplus of $1.77 billion for Ecuador. In the first half of 2026, bilateral trade reached $9.831 billion, up 20.1 percent year-on-year, according to China Daily.
Xi noted that the new progress in bilateral relations “reflects both the benefits generated by the bilateral free trade agreement and the potential of China’s superlarge market.” He urged both sides to continue tapping the agreement’s potential so that more enterprises and consumers can benefit.
Beyond trade, Ecuador has prioritized cooperation in mining investment, energy and infrastructure, and emerging industries including electric vehicles and cold-chain logistics. The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Xi emphasizing that the region’s status as a zone of peace should not be shaken and that countries’ right to independently choose cooperation partners should not be interfered with.
Experts See Institutionalized Partnership
Analysts view the visit as evidence of a maturing bilateral relationship. Pan Deng, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Region Law Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, told Global Times that China-Ecuador cooperation has “evolved from individual projects into a more systematic and long-term partnership,” shifting from scattered project-based cooperation toward institutionalized, normalized engagement.
Zhou Zhiwei, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the complementary nature of the two economies remains a key driver of cooperation. “China plays the role of ‘certainty’ through a win-win approach, which is why more and more Global South countries are turning to China and upgrading cooperation,” Zhou said.
The visit is the first stop of Noboa’s Asia tour, which will also take him to Vietnam and Singapore. It comes amid a broader trend of increasing high-level exchanges between China and Latin American countries, including Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi’s visit to China in February and Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Perez Mackenna’s scheduled visit from August 18 to 22.
What to Watch
As the state visit continues through August 23, observers will be watching for the implementation details of the newly signed cooperation documents and whether the two sides can translate their institutionalized partnership into concrete projects in green energy, digital economy, and infrastructure. The visit also signals how China continues to position itself as a reliable partner for Global South countries seeking diversified cooperation in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.