A new film inspired by AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books has reportedly been denied a cinema release in China, where the cuddly bear is seen as a symbol of political dissent.

Since last year, references to the character have been banned on the Chinese social media site Weibo, after a spate of posts comparing the “bear of very little brain” to the country’s president Xi Jinping.

No reason has been given for the decision to block Disney’s new film Christopher Robin, reported in The Hollywood Reporter, but it is believed to be part of a nationwide clampdown on references to the beloved children’s character.

In 2015, a picture showing Xi in a motorcade alongside an image of a Winnie-the-Pooh in a toy car was called "China's most censored photo" by political analysis company Global Risk Insights.

Other political figures have also been drawn into the joke. When Xi met with Barack Obama, the former US president was compared to Tigger the tiger on social media, while the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was drawn as Eeyore the donkey.