The Cook Islands said on Saturday that it signed a comprehensive strategic partnership deal with China - a move expected to raise concerns in New Zealand with which it has constitutional ties.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says the deal with China "complements, not replaces" the relationship with New Zealand after signing it on Friday.

No details have been released, but analysts and environmentalists fear it will pave the way for closer security ties and the start of deep-sea mining.

Cook Islands signs strategic partnership with China, raising concerns in New Zealand over growing Chinese presence in the Pacific.

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he will wait to see the contents of China’s agreements with the Cook Islands before commenting on

The Cook Islands needs trade and investment. Its economy depends on tourism, and, having graduated to “high-income” status in 2020, it is no longer eligible for aid. As Mr Brown sees it, China is part of the solution.

China acknowledged a visit by the Cook Islands leader for the first time on Thursday, amid exasperation in New Zealand that it was not consulted about expected agreements involving the South Pacific nation,

But the proposed pact has shaken decades-old ties between the Cook Islands and New Zealand, neighbours that are set to mark 60 years of a free association agreement in 2025. That agreement has long given New Zealand influence over the Cook Islands, especially over its foreign policy.

Concerns are mounting in New Zealand as the Cook Islands’ Prime Minister travels to China this week to sign agreements without properly consulting with New Zealand, despite the two nations' constitutional ties.

Cook Islands officials yesterday said they had discussed seabed minerals research with China as the small Pacific island mulls deep-sea mining of its waters.