Two new key members of US President Barack Obama's Cabinet may create an opportunity for improving Sino-US ties in Obama's second four-year term, analysts said.

Confirmation hearings for Senator John Kerry, nominated for secretary of state, and former senator Chuck Hagel, nominated for secretary of defense, are expected to start in the coming weeks.

Both Kerry and Hagel are senior politicians with a practical and moderate style, said Tao Wenzhao, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.