China calls for regional peace

President and Premier meet with US Secretary of State, looking for cooperation and stability.

Beijing said on Saturday that increased provocation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region would serve nobody's interests, as the country's top leaders met high-level US diplomats.

Premier Li Keqiang talked with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing on Saturday. Kerry also met with President Xi Jinping earlier.

Analysts said the visit is intended to update views on key regional issues between the two countries' new leaderships, while it is hoped tangible progress can be achieved in terms of cooperation and strategic mutual trust.

"All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and take the consequences," Li told Kerry.

Sowing the seeds of discord on the peninsula and in the region is like shooting oneself in the foot, Li was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry press release.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his meeting with Kerry, also called for denuclearization, plus peace and dialogue on the Korean Peninsula issue.

Tension has soared on the peninsula since the Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Feb 12, in protest against joint military drills between the Republic of Korea and the US.

Pyongyang declared "a state of war" with Seoul and threatened to launch a nuclear strike in self-defense.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said Beijing hopes Washington will not further intimidate Pyongyang.

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