Royal Navy admiral's meeting with Japanese defence minister risks diplomatic headache for David Cameron The visit by Adml Zambellas received virtually no publicity in this country but was seen as a major intervention by the Chinese. The Ministry of Defence has insisted that the visit was long-planned and the fact that it was at the same time as Mr Cameron's visit to China was a coincidence. Downing Street boasted that billions of pounds of trade deals were secured during the Prime Minister's visit to China last week. However, it has now emerged that while in the country, the Chinese Government sought to change the details of a number of events. Beijing only confirmed the visit a month ago, giving officials in London just weeks to organise the biggest trade delegation to China for years. Number 10 accepted the invitation even though Beijing changed the schedule twice. Although publicly confident, away from the cameras on the visit, Mr Cameron appeared increasingly rattled during the trip and was often ill-tempered. The depth of Chinese anger over Adml Zambellas" visit to Japan was exposed by an editorial in a state-run tabloid newspaper, which claimed Adml Zambellas had "supported Japan's stance towards China's recently declared Air Defence Identification zone in the East China Sea." The newspaper added: "This has added doubts over Cameron's sincerity in improving ties with China. Perhaps there is no need to talk about "sincerity" in terms of Sino-British relations. What Cameron does is out of his own political interest and the UK's national interest. His visit this time can hardly be the end of the conflict between China and the UK. Beijing needs to speed up the pace of turning its strength into diplomatic resources and make London pay the price for when it intrudes into the interests of China. Web-bloggers in China also criticised the meeting, with one writing: "This has helped Chinese people realise the ugly face of the British government." Mr Cameron was challenged about the meeting, with one Chinese reporter saying that it had caused "confusion among the Chinese ordinary people." He said: "That is an important issue. The European Union has made a balanced statement about that issue which the British support. And we want to see all the ... difficulties in the region be dealt with and subside so we can have good stability. That is the British view; that is the European view. The visit is understood to have been planned since May - well before the timing for Mr Cameron's visit was known, and stressed that ministers knew Adml Zambellas was visiting Japan. A Government spokesman said: "During his meeting with Itsunori Onodera, the First Sea Lord stated that in common with the rest of the EU, the UK notes with concern that China has established an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea. The UK urges all parties to work together to reduce tensions and resolve issues peacefully in line with international law. Last night a Number 10 spokesman said: "As the Prime Minister made clear, this was a highly successful trip. More than 130 British business leaders joined the PM on his visit to China and around £6billion of deals were delivered. The PM also held very good and substantial discussions with President Xi and Premier Li, who described the partnership between the UK and China as 'indispensable'.