Chinese Envoy Stresses Partnership Agreement with Cook Islands ‘Has Nothing to Do with Military or Security Agenda’: Media

By Fan Anqi

Aug 12, 2025 10:05 PM

China-Cook Islands relationship Photo: VCG

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030 signed between China and the Cook Islands has "nothing to do with any military or security agenda," and that "everyone could see for themselves… what we can do to support the economic development of the Cook Islands," said Wang Xiaolong, the Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, during a recent event, Radio New Zealand reported on Tuesday. 

Wang, who was in Rarotonga last week for the country's 60th anniversary celebrations, said that "together with the Cook Islands side, we have taken a completely transparent and open approach to what we are working on together."

"And those four documents that were signed have been made public, and everyone could see for themselves that our cooperation is focused on economic partnership and on supporting to support the economic development of the Cook Islands," Wang said, according to Cook Islands News.

The ambassador reiterated that the cooperation "has nothing to do with military or security agenda," saying, "I think it is very clear that our work is largely concentrated on economic cooperation."

In February, the Cook Islands signed multiple bilateral cooperative documents, including the Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030 and a Memorandum of Understanding for the Blue Partnership in Seabed Minerals Affairs, per media reports. 

China has repeatedly stressed that its cooperation with the Cook Islands is transparent and non-military. When asked about his views on the controversy surrounding the China-Cook Islands agreement, ambassador Wang said, "And as for some of the negativity from other partners, we have always made it very clear to both the Cook Islands side and to some of the other partners that might be involved in this, that what we're trying to do with the Cook Islands is not targeted at any other country," Radio New Zealand reported.

Earlier, Prime minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown stated his country's relations with New Zealand and other partners were not affected by the new accord, according to the Guardian.

"The Cook Islands will continue to make strategic decisions in the best long-term interests of our people," the prime minister said. "Our relationship and engagement with China complements, not replaces, our longstanding relationships with New Zealand and our various other bilateral, regional and multilateral partners," the Guardian reported.

The cooperation between China and the Cook Islands does not target any third party, and should not be disrupted by any third party. This is China's consistent position, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a February press briefing.

The Cook Islands had been administered by New Zealand since 1901, and in 1965, the two entered into free association, according to Radio New Zealand.

The cooperation documents China signed with the Cook Islands reflect a strategic vision addressing the critical needs of the latter without political conditions, and focuses on the Cook Islands' long-term prosperity, observers noted. 

Amid the threat of climate change, China's technical assistance in seawall construction and disaster prevention systems can also help the island nation address survival challenges, Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.