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.

China and the Cook Islands on Friday signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, but the lack of transparency around the details has alarmed New Zealand, the South Pacific state’s closest democratic ally.

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.

In 2018, in a meeting with leaders from eight Pacific island countries, including then Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to elevate China's diplomatic ties with the group of nations.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed the deal in Harbin, the capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province

China says a visit this week by the Cook Islands' prime minister to Beijing was not meant to conspire against anyone in the South Pacific, despite the trip stirring up a diplomatic spat between the tiny nation and its chief benefactor,

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 is willing to deepen mutual political trust with the Cook Islands, China's Premier Li Qiang said during a meeting with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, China's national television broadcaster reported on Friday.

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