UK admits China relations slow to thaw after Dalai Lama visit China froze out Britain for more than a year longer than British diplomats expected after David Cameron met the Dalai Lama, officials have admitted, in a sign of the ruthless power politics surrounding the prime minister's trip to the country last week. Number 10 knew Mr Cameron would suffer the wrath of Beijing after he appeared in public with the Tibetan spiritual leader in London in May 2012. But UK officials say they had expected the repercussions to clear much sooner than the 18 months it took to fully restore normal diplomatic relations. Relations remained tense in the run-up to Mr Cameron's three-day trip, according to people involved in the planning, with Beijing forcing a series of last-minute changes to the schedule. Accounts of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy surrounding the trip highlight China's growing confidence to assert itself over western powers - and Downing Street's willingness to acquiesce to Chinese demands in a bid to put bilateral relations back on track. Beijing only confirmed the trip a month ago, giving officials just weeks to organise what became the biggest UK trade delegation to China with 127 business leaders in tow. Number 10 accepted the invitation, even though it meant delaying the chancellor's Autumn Statement. Then, 24 hours before the prime minister was due to fly, Beijing changed his entire schedule twice, first promising and then cancelling a dinner with Premier Li Keqiang, with whom Mr Cameron eventually organised a lunch. China also forced Britain to change the location of a big business banquet, which was originally to be thrown in Beijing, but was moved to Shanghai at the request of the Chinese authorities. Chinese officials then asked their British counterparts to limit the number of people on the guest list, which had already been organised and decided. One UK official in China said: "We're off the naughty step, but not very far off." In a sign of continued Chinese ambivalence, Mr Cameron was greeted by an editorial in the Global Times, a Communist-controlled Beijing newspaper, accusing him of insincerity and irrelevance. Yet, despite the mixed signals, Downing Street officials declared themselves satisfied with the trip, during which Premier Li described the bilateral relationship as "indispensable." Mr Cameron trumpeted £5.6bn of bilateral trade and investment deals, ranging from increased exports of Jaguar Land Rover cars to the opening of the Chinese market to British pig sperm. Meanwhile, Premier Li expressed Chinese willingness to invest in the UK's high-speed rail and nuclear power plans. But while the public show put on by both sides was one of unity, the behind-the-scenes haggling exposed the changing balance of power between the UK and its fellow permanent member of the UN Security Council. An example of the UK's limited leverage came when Beijing barred a British Bloomberg journalist from a press conference with Mr Cameron and Premier Li amid a dispute with the US news organisation over an investigation into the wealth of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president. Downing Street said it raised concern "at senior levels" the day before that such a move would be "completely inappropriate." But the protests were ignored.