Beijing Grants Cook Islands $4 Million Under ‘Strategic Partnership’, but Further Details Scarce

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Beijing and the tiny Pacific nation includes a one-off $4 million grant, equivalent to 1.29 percent of its GDP.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Stephen Brown delivers a statement during the high level segment on day three of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference at Baku, Azerbaijan on Nov. 13, 2024. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has returned from a state visit to Beijing and revealed the details of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” between the communist regime and his country.

Brown told reporters waiting at the airport that the Cook Islands would receive an initial $4 million one-off payment for “future projects,” but indicated there were “no projects we’ve signed up to at this stage.”