The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday it expects China’s exports this year to remain generally flat and imports to fall – possibly by a substantial amount.

Chinese state-run news agency said China’s “foreign-trade growth fared well with a smaller drop than the global average and most major economies”, according to the Ministry’s report.

Xinhua added the document indicated China would face “complex global conditions”, “subdued international market demands”, “a weakening of its traditional competitive edge” and “increasing trade frictions” in 2016. Nevertheless, it added the Asian country was likely to post faster growth than the global average.

The report also noted that China’s policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and its economic restructuring would allow the country to “hold a bigger share of the international [export] market”.

In the first nine months of the year, the value of Chinese exports fell 1.8 percent year-on year to 10.24 trillion yuan (US$1.6 trillion), while the value of imports dropped 15.1 percent from previous year to 7.63 trillion yuan, Xinhua added.

China’s trade surplus increased 82.1 percent year on year to 2.61 trillion yuan in the January-September period.

The Chinese Ministry’s report said the drops in the value of exports and imports were due to the sluggish global economy, high costs and a slump globally in commodity prices, according to Xinhua.