CHINA opposes the use of frozen Russian assets by the European Union, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.

Mr Guo said: “China consistently opposes unilateral sanctions that violate international law and are not approved by the UN security council.”

He said Beijing advocates the creation of a “positive atmosphere and favourable conditions for advancing dialogue and negotiations.”

Mr Guo highlighted the need for a political resolution to the Ukrainian crisis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 34 other countries formally approved plans on Tuesday to create a compensation body to pay for damages to Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion, but questions remain about where the money will come from.

President Zelensky told leaders gathered in The Hague in the Netherlands that he hopes for strong international support so “any damage caused by the war can be compensated.”

The Council of Europe, which facilitated the International Claims Commission, is adamant that Russia must foot the bill. One proposal is to use some of the tens of billions in frozen Russian assets held in Europe.

“The aggressor must pay,” Mr Zelensky told the Dutch parliament on Tuesday.

The European Commission is planning to get the EU countries at a summit on December 18-19 to decide on the expropriation of €210 billion (£75bn) of Russian assets.