Monday 17 February 2025 – The pinnacle of the recent state visit to the People’s Republic of China by the Cook Islands Government was a bilateral meeting between Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and Premier of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang in Harbin followed by the signing of The Action Plan 2025 - 2030 for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Cook Islands and the People’s Republic of China (Action Plan).
The five year Action Plan negotiated between the two governments builds on historical co-operation between the Cook Islands and China since 1997 and sets out a structured framework for future engagement in areas of priority interests including trade and investment, tourism, ocean science, aquaculture, agriculture, infrastructure including transport, climate resilience, disaster preparedness, creative industries, technology and innovation, education and scholarships and people to people exchanges. The Action Plan can be viewed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Immigration website at https://mfai.gov.ck/sites/default/files/2025-02/2025-2030%20-%20Action%20Plan%20for%20Strategic%20Partnership_0.pdf
During the state visit the delegation visited the cities of Shanghai, Qingdao, and Harbin, to engage with various institutions and industry leaders to exchange and explore potential future collaboration in areas of mutual interest. The delegation met with the Provincial Government in Shandong and Heilongjiang, as well as the Municipal Government in Shanghai, to further exchange on areas for collaboration as articulated in the Action Plan.
The programme started in Shanghai, China’s largest city and global financial centre. The delegation engaged with key organisations and companies in industries including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, renowned for its pioneering work in deep ocean research. The delegation also visited Guangming Food Group, a leading aquaculture processing plant, where they gained valuable insights into advanced practices and technologies that could help boost the Cook Islands’ interest in developing its aquaculture sector. These site visits underscored the importance of Shanghai not only as a hub for cutting-edge research but also as a gateway to China’s trade and investment opportunities. The China International Import Export Fair (CIIE), provides further opportunities for Cook Islands businesses to tap into the vast Chinese market, highlighting the potential for future collaboration and growth in the financial sector, marine science and aquaculture industries.
Qingdao was the second city visited, a coastal city leading in manufacturing, aquaculture development, shipbuilding and biotechnology and finance. The delegation visited entities specialising in shipbuilding, and aquaculture development, at the forefront globally of innovation in their respective fields, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and innovative technology and already engaged in growing trade with the likes of New Zealand, Australia and other Pacific countries. The delegation also visited the First Institute of Oceanography and Qingdao National Deep Sea Centre to share learnings on deep ocean science and discuss areas for possible future collaboration.
The visit ended in Harbin, one of China’s most northeastern cities. Harbin is renowned for its advancements in land resources, agricultural development, equipment manufacturing and prominence for research and education in engineering, technology and natural sciences. The delegation engaged
with the Robotics Department at the Harbin Engineering University, a potential partner for the Cook Islands Centre of Excellence in Information Technology’s (CEIT) Robotics Club. The delegation ended the visit at the closing of the 9th Asia Winter Games, hosted by the city of Harbin – which availed valuable insights as the Cook Islands starts to prepare for its own hosting of the 2029 Pacific Mini Games.
With the signing of the Action Plan, agencies of both governments can progress discussions on a sectoral basis to build on existing and future bilateral projects and initiatives which can support achieve the Cook Islands development outcomes as spelt out in the Cook Islands National Sustainable Development Agenda (NSDA) 2020+.
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