A climate change agreement between the United States and China is a significant step in terms of easing tensions between the superpowers, analysts say, while the Australian government expresses hope that, at a minimum, China will start helping to reduce global emissions and commit to net zero by 2050.

The surprise agreement, negotiated on the sidelines of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, comes ahead of a virtual meeting in coming days between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in New Zealand.