China’s job market remained stable last year with the urban unemployment rate well under control at 4.02% at the end of 2016, down from 4.04% three months earlier, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said. China created 13.14 million new jobs for urban residents last year, exceeding the target of 10 million. China’s economy grew 6.7% year-on-year in 2016, down from the 6.9% rise in 2015 and marking the weakest annual growth in 26 years, which, along with the ongoing industrial restructuring, added to concerns over job losses this year. A huge workforce, a supply-demand gap for skilled workers and laid-off workers will continue to put pressure on the job market. To face the challenges, China will strive to ensure re-employment of workers made redundant during the country’s excess capacity cuts, help college graduates seek jobs, improve professional skill training, and support people to set up their own businesses, the Shanghai Daily reports.

After a reduction of 33 million tons in steel capacity last year, China’s Hebei province, aims to further slash about 32 million tons of steel capacity in the current year. “2017 will be our toughest year in capacity reduction,” said Governor Zhang Qingwei. Hebei produces a quarter of the country’s iron and steel. Coal-rich Shanxi and central Henan both set the targets of cutting 20 million tons of coal capacity this year. The two provinces each slashed 23 million tons of coal capacity last year. “Coal overcapacity reduction should be achieved through market means,” said Lou Yangsheng, Governor of Shanxi, adding that mergers and reorganizations would be encouraged. Hubei said that it would close all its coal production firms in two years, while Guizhou province will slash 15 million tons of coal capacity by closing 120 coal mines this year. Local governments will also focus on handling poor-performing zombie companies. Zhejiang province plans to close 300 zombie companies and 1,000 firms with outdated capacity this year, and Guangdong province aims to close 74 private zombie firms after it closed more than 2,000 state-owned zombie companies and 39 private companies in 2016. China achieved its 2016 target of cutting 45 million tons of steel and 250 million tons of coal production capacity, affecting nearly 800,000 workers, the China Daily reports.

Premier Li Keqiang pledged that China will give the world “an anchor of stability” by maintaining domestic reform, championing economic openness, and counter the rising tide of protectionism. Li’s comment is the latest effort by Beijing to call for openness and defending globalization, in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda. “This is a testing time,” Li wrote in the latest edition of Bloomberg Businessweek. “Above all, we remain convinced that economic openness serves the interests of everyone better, at home and abroad.” “It’s far preferable for countries to trade goods and services and bond through investment partnerships than to trade barbs and build barriers.” The remarks echoed President Xi Jinping’s speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos earlier this month, in which he said globalization should not be blamed for the Syrian refugee crisis and financial problems. China is widely considered to be a major beneficiary of economic globalization. Since joining to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, its export-oriented growth model lead the country’s economic take-off in the first few years of the new millennium to become the world’s top exporter. Although the Trump administration has yet to address China issues, his decisions to withdraw from TPP, revoke Obamacare and build a wall along the Mexican border point to further trade frictions, if not a full-scale trade war, the South China Morning Post reports.

HNA Group is acquiring a majority stake in SkyBridge Capital, an alternative investment firm founded by Donald Trump Adviser Anthony Scaramucci. SkyBridge, a leading New York-based global alternative investment firm, announced that it has signed an agreement with HNA Capital (US) Holding and RON Transatlantic EG to sell the majority of its shares. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017. Detailed financial transactions were not disclosed. HNA, the parent of Hainan Airlines, China’s largest private airline, has strengthened its global portfolio with a string of overseas acquisitions in aviation, logistics and the hospitality businesses. The deal, the first acquisition of an alternative investment firm by HNA, would add to the assets of the group, which are now valued at more than CNY600 billion. “Our investment in SkyBridge is an important step in HNA Capital’s strategy to build a global asset management business,” said Yang Guang, CEO of HNA Capital. As of November 2016, SkyBridge managed or advised approximately USD12 billion in assets, the China Daily reports.

Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, has agreed to buy U.S.-based money-transfer provider MoneyGram International in a deal valued at USD880 million. “The acquisition of MoneyGram is a significant milestone in our mission to bring inclusive financial services to users around the world,” Ant Financial Chief Executive Eric Jing said. The transaction marks the second and biggest acquisition made by Ant Financial in the U.S., following its purchase of biometric security technology company EyeVerify for more than USD100 million last year. Stockholders of Nasdaq-listed MoneyGram will be offered USD13.25 per share in cash by Ant Financial. The two companies said their merger will provide consumers in more than 200 countries and territories with convenient and accessible financial services, connecting MoneyGram’s 2.4 billion bank and mobile accounts, and 350,000 physical locations, with Ant Financial’s users. Ant Financial’s sharpened focus on strategic international acquisitions has been aided by the record USD4.5 billion round of private equity financing it closed in April, which is the single largest private placement by an internet company. Upon completion of the deal, MoneyGram will retain its brand name and management team, the South China Morning Post reports.