China to Never Allow War or Chaos on Korean Peninsula: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday China will never allow war or chaos on the Korean peninsula as he urges talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue at an Asian regional security meeting.

Commenting on a number of regional security issues, the president called for strengthened security cooperation and dialogue among regional governments and the establishment of an Asian community of common destiny.

The Chinese President was addressing a Foreign Ministers' meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, or CICA.

The two-day meeting in Beijing has taken place this Wednesday and Thursday.

Speaking to a room full of foreign dignitaries, Xi Jinping has touched on a number of hot-button issues in Asia right now, including the tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China has implemented relevant Security Council resolutions fully and faithfully. As a close neighbor, we will never allow war or chaos on the Korean peninsula, as this serves nobody's interests. We hope that various parties will exercise restraint, avoid mutual provocation and escalation of tension and make a joint effort to bring the nuclear issue back to the track of dialogue and negotiations as early as possible and walk towards peace and security in northeast Asia."

North Korea has insisted it needs to continue developing its nuclear weapons program as a deterrent to a possible invasion by the United States and South Korea.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping has also touched on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

"China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea. We firmly stand by our sovereignty, our rights and interests in the South China Sea. But we also remain committed to resolving disputes peacefully through friendly consultations with the countries directly concerned. We will continue to work with ASEAN countries to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and co-operation."

The Chinese President says peace and economic prosperity are priorities for everyone in Asia.

Touching on existing security issues and terrorism, Xi Jinping is calling for more regional cooperation, saying he'd like to see the creation of what he calls an "Asian community of common destiny."

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the host this year's event, has chaired a roundtable discussion about the status of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia itself.

"CICA's non-governmental forum and the sixth think tank forum will encourage all sides to actively discuss how to establish a new Asian security structure on the level of non-governmental project under track-two diplomacy, or nongovernmental and unofficial diplomacy. At the center of this, we will hold practical discussions on how to establish the hot issues coordination mechanism, how to implement anti-terrorism and law enforcement cooperation, and how to jointly guarantee the safety of the One Road One Belt project."

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia was first established in 1992 following the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

It was set up as a way to keep lines of communication open among the newly-formed governments in the former Soviet sphere and other countries in Asia.

Today, it has 26 member states, including China, Russia and India.

Other countries, including the US and Japan, along with a number of international organizations, attend the meetings as observers.

China last hosted the CICA leaders' summit in 2014.