On July 25, 1997, China and the Cook Islands signed a communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and decided to establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.

In November 2014, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of Cook Islands Henry Puna in Fiji, the two sides upgraded the relations to a strategic cooperative partnership featuring mutual respect and common development. In November 2018, President Xi Jinping visited Papua New Guinea and met with Prime Minister Henry Puna, the two sides upgraded the relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development. In Decemeber 2024, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu visited the Cook Islands. In February 2025, Prime Minister of Cook Islands Mark Brown attended the closing ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games 2025 in Harbin.

In october 2015, the Confucius Classroom at the Cook Islands Campus of the University of the South Pacific was officially established.