According to an informal schedule, a new round of trade talks between the two countries had been set to take place around the new year.

But the Chinese have "indicated that they needed more time for internal consultations before a new date can be set for this meeting," trade and industry ministry spokesman Oeyvind Arum told AFP.

China specialist Henning Kristoffersen meanwhile told the Aftenposten daily the move was most likely linked to the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award this year's prize to Liu, a jailed dissident who Beijing considers "a criminal."

"This is in line with their warnings following the attribution (of the Nobel) that this would affect relations between Norway and China," he said.

"If they had maintained the planned negotiation schedule, they would have signalled that everything was as before," he added.

Kristoffersen predicted that China was waiting to see how the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony goes in Oslo on December 10 -- which neither Liu nor any family members are expected to be able to attend -- before deciding how to proceed.

"There is a risk there will be further delays. I cannot rule out that the whole deal will fall through," he told Aftenposten.

Liu, a former professor and author, was sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years in prison on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08," a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China.

Despite China's anger over the 2010 prize announcement on October 8, Norwegian Trade and Industry Minister Trond Giske said late last month he still hoped Oslo would wrap up the free trade deal, the first between a European country and the Asian powerhouse, next year.

On Tuesday however, his ministry refused to provide an expected signing date.

"It is a complex process that requires time and that concerns numerous authorities on both sides. It is too soon to say when the negotiations will be completed," Arum said.

According to official Norwegian data, the country's exports to China grew 6.5-fold between 2000 and 2009, reaching a value of 15.2 billion kroner (1.9 billion euros, 2.5 billion dollars).

During the same period, its imports from China have nearly quadrupled to 32.6 billion kroner.

Last year, China accounted for two percent of all Norwegian exports, while providing the Scandinavian country with 7.8 percent of its imports.

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