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China Premier busy,

postpones Netherlands trip

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday the heavy workload of Premier Li Peng had forced him to postpone visits to the Netherlands and Luxembourg and denied reports the move was linked to possible Dutch plans to sell submarines to Taiwan.

"There is no other reason for the decision to postpone the trip to the Netherlands other than Premier Li Peng has a busy official schedule," Foreign Ministry spokesman Chen Jian told a news briefing.

Chen was commenting on a Hong Kong newspaper report that Li's trip was put off because the Netherlands planned to sell submarines to China's arch-rival, Taiwan.

Beijing opposed foreign countries selling weapons to Taiwan, the spokesman said. China has regarded the island as a rebel province since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Asked what was keeping Li busy, Chen said: "As a great nation with a population of 1.2 billion, I think it can be understood (if) the premier is busy with his official duties."

Last Thursday, the Dutch government said Li had cancelled a planned visit on April 18 to the Netherlands

The visit was postponed at "the request of the Chinese owing to other commitments", the Dutch government information office said in a brief statement. No new dates for a visit were given.

Li is due to arrive in France later on Tuesday on an official tour at the invitation of his French counterpart Alain Juppe.-Reuter