To the front of India-China 20th round of the SR-level talks, Beijing said the Doklam face-off between the two countries had pose a 'major test' for the bilateral ties, adding it was important to learn a lesson from the clash to avoid it in future.

"In the year 2017, China-India relationships have maintained a good thrust generally but the Doklam incident posed a main test for the two countries. We should learn lessons from this incident to avoid any further conflict of this kind in the future," Foreign Ministry representative Hua Chunying told a media briefing here on Tuesday.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi are chosen Special council to the respective countries in the 20th round of India-China border talks which is usual to be held this week in New Delhi. The two nations will meet for the first time after the 73-day military stand-off at Doklam (Donglang) near the Sikkim border.The Special delegate meeting will also allow both the sides to exchange their views on the international and regional issues of major concern, Hua added.

She further said that the meeting was not only a high-level channel for the border issue discussion, but also the platform for strategic communication."We should follow our historical conventions on the border to uphold the tranquillity and peace in the border region as well as safeguard the larger picture of the India- China relations," Hua averred.

Taking about the Doklam stand-off's crash on the talks, Hua said the matter also figured in the current visit of Foreign Minister Wang Yi to New Delhi.Though the talks are scheduled for December 22, an official announcement is yet to be made from both the sides.