The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Cook Islands is visiting the country for the second time in just over a month.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) announced it will welcome Ambassador Dr Xiaolong Wang to Rarotonga for an official visit from January 30 to February 1.

The aim of Ambassador Wang’s visit is to strengthen bilateral relations and enhance the various areas of cooperation between the Cook Islands and the Republic of China, the statement said.

The visiting Ambassador will meet with Foreign Secretary Tepaeru Herrmann and other government senior officials, according to MFAI.

This visit is a follow up to the December 2024 high-level visit of China’s Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Zhaoxu Ma, with discussions expected to focus on “enhancing cooperation in areas of priority interest to the Cook Islands including trade, investment, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, maritime cooperation, cultural and people to people exchange”.

Secretary Herrmann said: “Ambassador Wang’s visit affords a further opportunity to see how and where else the Cook Islands and China can co-operate in the next couple of years in a manner which supports the Cook Islands national development priorities.”
Ambassador Wang’s last visit to the Cook Islands was from December 17-18, 2024, with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing the various areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The December visit’s bilateral discussions focused on forward cooperation between both countries, including affirming commitment towards progressing a Comprehensive Statement of Partnership Agreement led by the respective Foreign Ministries to cover a range of areas of cooperation. Discussions also explored opportunities for trade and investment, potential partnerships for tourism, agriculture, fisheries and maritime cooperation, all of which contribute to the Cook Islands sustainable development and the well-being of our people.

In December 2024, Cook Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Tingika Elikana said: “This was a welcome opportunity to meet with Executive Vice Minister Ma and Ambassador Wang. The Cook Islands and China share a rich history of friendship and cooperation, over its 27 years of formal diplomatic relations. In a rapidly changing world, it is essential that the Cook Islands continue to collaborate with genuine development partners like China to drive growth and socio-economic sustainability for both nations.”

According to MFAI, the Cook Islands and China formalised diplomatic relations 28 years ago and bilateral co-operation over the years have supported the establishment of several public infrastructures in the Cook Islands namely the Court House, Police National Headquarters, the Ministry of Education, Primary School Apii Nikao and Rarotonga’s national ring main water systems which was done in trilateral partnership with New Zealand.

“In recent years, development co-operation between the two governments have been supported through China’s provincial governments working in partnership with Cook Islands government agencies and community-based entities, with assistance provided in agricultural and marine equipment, heavy machinery and technical expertise.”