New Zealand has "paused" the payments and will not resume them until the Cook Islands takes "concrete steps" to restore trust, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

The self-governing Cook Islands, a country of 17,000 people, has a "free association" relationship with its former colonial ruler New Zealand, which provides budgetary assistance as well as helping on foreign affairs and defence.

Cook Islands caught New Zealand off guard in February when it signed a slew of deals with China, covering deep-sea mining, regional cooperation and economic issues.

The lack of consultation showed a "gap in understanding" between New Zealand and Cook Islands, Peters's spokesman said.

"New Zealand has therefore paused these payments and will also not consider significant new funding until the Cook Islands Government takes concrete steps to repair the relationship and restore trust."

New Zealand had provided US$116 million (NZ$194 million) to the Cook Islands over the past three years, according to government figures.

It had paused its planned US$11 million development assistance payment for the next financial year.

"New Zealand hopes that steps will be taken swiftly to address New Zealand's concerns so that this support can be resumed as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.