RAROTONGA, Cook Islands -- New Zealand is aiming to extend its assistance partnership with China in the Pacific during talks around the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in the Cook Islands, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said on Wednesday.

New Zealand, China and Cook Islands are due to announce a joint water supply project on Thursday for Rarotonga, the main island of Cook Islands, ahead of the 24th Post Forum Dialogue Partners Meeting on Friday.

"We think this is a very, very positive development," McCully told Xinhua in an exclusive interview before the 43rd PIF leaders plenary meeting in Rarotonga on Wednesday.

"I've made no secret of the fact that I hope that New Zealand will be the first developed country to engage in a development partnership with the Chinese government in the Pacific," he said.

"China's a big player here. China has significant resources. New Zealand is smaller but local and we think that this would be a partnership that would work. So this has been under discussion for some time and I'm hoping that there will be further progress while we're here in the Cook Islands," he said.

McCully said donor countries had to work harder to coordinate their assistance in the Pacific.

"We think that only through establishing some partnerships and working closely together will we understand each other better and work more closely together," he added.

He said China's role in the Pacific could come up in discussions with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she arrives in the Cook Islands Thursday.

"The agenda for those meetings is not yet settled, but we certainly are very conscious of the fact that China is a big player within this region. They've got a strong presence and we believe that only through getting closer together and working in partnership will we understand each other better and cooperate better."

The New Zealand government was also working on an ambitious program to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China in November and December.

"We'll have a range of initiatives, not just in the diplomatic area, but will include sport, science and of course business-to- business contact, which we think is very important," said McCully.

"China wants to have a relationship that is not just a narrow trade and economic relationship and we agree. We want to try and promote contact in the many different areas of endeavor," he said.

"This is going to be a very positive time in the relationship and we look forward to what will be I think a very ambitious program."