India, May 12 -- US President Donald Trump will pay an official visit to China from May 13 to 15 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Monday.

This will be the first visit to China by a US president in almost nine years. Trump himself was the last US president to visit China in 2017, during his first term.

The visit comes amid a prolonged war in West Asia involving the US-Israel and Iran, a crisis over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz causing a global energy crisis, and increasing tensions between the US and China over a host of issues, including Taiwan.

On Sunday, US principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump would arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening ...