Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in New York, the United States, on Sept. 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called on all parties to stay calm to prevent the mounting tension on the Korean Peninsula from spiralling out of control.

Wang made the remarks when he met with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is getting increasingly grave, he stressed.

China has always favored a peaceful solution. In the absence of dialogue and negotiations, there can be no solution through sanctions and pressure alone, he said.

The international community should turn the pressure of sanctions into a thrust for negotiations at a proper time, create conditions for talks and seize opportunities for dialogue, Wang said.

China appreciates Germany's support for the Chinese suspension-for-suspension proposal and expects Germany to make efforts to promote peace and negotiations, he said.

Gabriel said Germany is concerned about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and the fact that the international non-proliferation regime is under threat. Germany believes the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue must be solved peacefully through dialogue and negotiations. There should be no military option.

The German envoy said his country supports China's suspension-for-suspension proposal and appreciates the U.S. policy of "Four Nos." Germany is calling for an early resumption of talks and is willing to play a constructive role in the peaceful settlement of the issue, he said.

China's initiative of suspension-for-suspension calls on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to suspend its nuclear and missile activities and on the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to suspend its large-scale war games.

The U.S. policy of "Four Nos" refers to Washington's promise not to seek a regime change in Pyongyang, not seek the collapse of the DPRK government, not seek acceleration of reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and not send its military north of the 38th Parallel that acts as the boundary between DPRK and ROK.

The two ministers also exchanged views on Afghanistan.