The New York Times reports: "China's Communist Party brought to an end the decades-old 'one-child' policy on Thursday, when leaders announced that all married couples would be allowed to have two children in a bid to reverse the rapid aging of the labor force... 'Improve the demographic development strategy,' said the official communiqué, or summary, of the meeting issued through the Xinhua news agency. 'Comprehensively implement a policy that couples can have two children, actively taking steps to counter the aging of the population.'"
The Washington Post reports: "Last November, China's Xi and President Obama said their nations would join forces against 'one of the greatest threats facing humanity,' climate change. Xi pledged then that China's carbon-dioxide output would peak by 2030...Beijing is aggressively investing in natural gas supplies, nuclear power and renewable energy. China is the world leader in wind power and is about to claim the top spot from Germany in solar power"
The Associated Press reports: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang appealed Thursday for a political solution to Syria's civil war as diplomats prepared to meet in Vienna for new peace efforts... 'We both agree that we should work out a political resolution through diplomatic channels,' said Merkel at a news conference with Li. 'I hope that we can soon have all the important parties sit down together to discuss the issues and offer substantial help to the Syrian people.'"