Liu Jieyi went on to call on all parties to remain “cool-headed” and not stoke tensions and said relevant people should resume negotiations “sooner rather than later.”
To kick-start talks, China and Russia have proposed a dual suspension of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile testing as well as US and South Korean military exercises.
Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council: “We think it’s a big mistake to underestimate this Russia, China initiative.
“It remains on the table at the Security Council and we will insist on it being considered.”
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has called the proposal insulting.
The UN Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea, imposing a ban on the country’s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.
It was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council since 2006 over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
The US watered down an initial tougher draft resolution to win the support of Pyongyang ally China and Russia.
Textiles were North Korea’s second-biggest export after coal and other minerals in 2016, totalling $752 million, according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
Nearly 80 per cent of the textile exports went to China.
The resolution imposes a ban on condensates and natural gas liquids, a cap of 2 million barrels a year on refined petroleum products, and a cap on crude oil exports to North Korea at current levels.
China supplies most of North Korea’s crude.