Visit of Cook Islands PM to deepen exchanges

At the invitation of China, Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands will attend the Closing Ceremony of the Asian Winter Games in Harbin from February 10 to 16, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday.

Premier Li Qiang will meet with him in Harbin. Prime Minister Brown and his delegation visited Shanghai and Shandong, Guo said.

The spokesperson noted that Cook Islands is China's cooperation partner in the South Pacific. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have respected each other, treated each other as equals, and sought common development. 

"In 2018, our relationship was elevated to comprehensive strategic partnership. Our friendly cooperation is rooted in profound public support and delivers tangibly to the two peoples,"  Guo said.  

"Through Prime Minister Brown's visit, China stands ready to have an in-depth exchange of views with the Cook Islands on our relations and work for new progress in bilateral relations," Guo said.

According to the website of the office of the Cook Islands Prime Minister, this marks the first state visit by a prime minister from the country to China in the last decade and presents an opportunity to enhance cooperation across key sectors.

In a statement published on his office's website on Wednesday, Brown said that his conversations in China "have opened the door to new areas of collaboration," including expanding the Cook Islands' marine research capabilities through partnerships with the China Ocean Sample Repository and the National Deep Sea Center, both located in Qingdao in Shandong Province.

The collaboration also includes "exploring aquaculture opportunities with Qingdao Frontier Ocean Seed Company," as well as enhancing "national climate resilience efforts, particularly in weather forecasting and climate change adaptation, through cooperation with global experts," read the statement.

The expanding cooperation between China and the Cook Islands in addressing climate change, agriculture, and fisheries is expected to contribute to the South Pacific country's robust economic development and provide substantial momentum for improving people's livelihoods, Chen Hong, executive director at the Asia Pacific Studies Centre of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Chen noted that China-Cook Islands bilateral cooperation is a microcosm of that between China and the Pacific Island countries (PICs), which is beneficial for bilateral relations and for the prosperity of the region. 

"Just like the Cook Islands, many PICs can boost their economies through cooperation with China, which will not interfere in their domestic affairs nor impose political conditions on them, but fully respects the sovereignty and independence, the will and the ethnic and cultural traditions of the PICs and their efforts to seek strength through unity," Chen said.