BEIJING - The Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that President Hu Jintao will visit the United States in January, as the two world powers seek to ease economic spats and strains on the Korean Peninsula.

The visit, nearly coinciding with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates' arrival in Beijing in January which signals resumed military ties, will be a gift to fluctuating relations between Beijing and Washington at the start of a new year, experts said.

China and the United States are in close touch over President Hu's state visit to the US in January, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at regular press briefing on Thursday.