However, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear Washington considered it was now up to Beijing and Moscow to act to restrain Pyongyang.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying hit back by saying her country was not the "focal point of the conflict".
"The various directly involved parties should take responsibility," she told journalists, in remarks clearly aimed at the US and South Korea. "Any attempt to wash their hands of the issue is irresponsible and unhelpful for resolving the issue."
She added that sanctions were "not the way to solve the problem" and called for a peaceful solution "through formal diplomatic means".