Copenhagen/Washington, Dec 19 - US President Barack Obama has reached a deal with China on climate change, the US television network MSNBC reported Friday, citing a US official in Copenhagen.

The deal was expected to set the scene for a wider agreement on measures to combat global warming at the UN climate change conference in the Danish capital.

"We are minutes from a deal if nothing unexpected happens," diplomats close to the talks told DPA.

The reported deal followed a series of 11th hour talks between the US, China, India and the European Union (EU) on the sidelines of summit.

Diplomats had earlier told DPA that the US and the EU had been working on a skeleton proposal, to be presented for approval to a select group of global players. (dpa)