U.S. President Barack Obama with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the White House grounds Thursday. The U.S. and China on Friday will announce significant steps in their efforts to combat climate change, including a pledge by China to launch a program by 2017 to cap some emissions and put a price on carbon, senior Obama administration officials said Thursday. The announcements will detail the two countries’ strategies for reaching emissions targets and aim to bolster efforts to complete an international accord to reduce global carbon-dioxide emissions, which is meant to be wrapped up in December. The Obama administration officials, touting a new era of U.S.-China climate diplomacy, said the statement would demonstrate to the world the countries’ commitment to reaching agreed-upon targets. Chinese President Xi Jinping ’s decision to put a price on CO2 emissions with a cap-and-trade system marks the first time China has launched such an initiative. […]