Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Thursday that China postponed the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture due to technical reasons and time concerns.

Zhang said the Special Rapporteur on torture of the UN Commission on Human Rights Theo van Boven's visit to China involves many departments and China needs more time for further coordination and preparation.

However, Zhang stressed that China's invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur remained unchanged. "China still welcomes his visit."

The spokeswoman said China holds a positive attitude in carrying out cooperation with UN human rights agencies and China has expressed many times its welcome to the visits of UN Special Rapporteurs.

Theo van Boven on Wednesday said in a statement that his two-week visit to China, scheduled at the end of June, has now been postponed until sometime later this year, according to reports.

The aims of a country visit are for the Special Rapporteur to assess first hand the situation in the country concerning torture, including institutional and legislative factors that contribute to such practices, and to make relevant recommendations.

Since last September, China has sent invitations to three Special Rapporteurs as well as the high commissioner for human rights.