New Zealand and the US have worked together in the Pacific to offset the growing influence of China, but there are concerns among some lawmakers in New Zealand about what the change in administration in Washington and its suspension of aid funding will mean for the region.

Speaking in Honolulu, Hawaii, on a week-long Pacific trip by a group of New Zealand politicians, Peters said the message he took to the US was that “New Zealand wants, indeed needs, for the US to remain an active, engaged and constructive partner in the Indo-Pacific”.

“We look forward to more constructive dialogue in the days ahead,” Winston said, according to a transcript.

In Washington, Peters met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, director of the US office of foreign assistance Peter Marocco, and a range of other administration and congressional representatives.

After the meetings, Peters said New Zealand’s relationship with the US was on a “strong footing” amid what he called “the most challenging strategic environment in at least half a century”.