Senior British leaders should avoid “pointless posturing” over issues including human rights and Tibet or face the consequences, the Global Times warned.

The editorial followed reports last weekend of a split in the Cabinet with William Hague, the Foreign secretary, and Nick Clegg arguing that Britain should take a firmer line with China.

“If Britain and China start competing over who can be tougher against the other, can Britain be the winner?” the editorial asked.

The UK has been frozen out, politically, since David Cameron and Mr Clegg met the Dalai Lama last May. Since then, there has been no ministerial contact with China other than brief encounters at world summits such as the G20. A spokesman for the British embassy in Beijing said there are no concrete plans for any high-level meetings in the coming months.