KATHMANDU (AFP) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has postponed a trip to Nepal next week, the government in Kathmandu said on Tuesday, with a senior parliamentary source citing concerns from Beijing over security.

The prime minister and his Nepali counterpart Baburam Bhattarai were due to discuss billions of dollars of investment from Beijing, while China was expected to ask Nepal to stem the flow of Tibetan refugees from their homeland.

'The Chinese side requested us to postpone the visit. We have honoured the request,' said Mr Hira Lal Chaudhary, the personal secretary of foreign minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

The official did not elaborate on the reasons for the postponement but a senior parliamentary source told AFP the Chinese had concerns over security, including the possibility of protests from Tibetan exiles.