China’s economy is likely to grow by 6.5 percent in 2016 – a slower pace than previous years – said the State Information Center of China, an official think tank in the country.

The estimate was given in an article published on Monday in the Government-run China Securities Journal.

The think tank is the responsibility of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s state planning body. According to Monday’s report, the think tank also predicted China’s inflation would grow by 1.5 percent next year while China’s Producer Price Index – which measures the average change in the price of goods and services sold by manufacturers and producers in the wholesale market during a given period – would drop 3.5 percent.

What the think tank termed mid- to high-speed growth was still possible for China if the country stepped up the restructuring its economy, the body said, as quoted in the report. But the think tank warned that uncertainties and economic downward pressures would persist next year.

The State Information Center also suggested Chinese exports next year would grow 1.5 percent year-on-year while the country’s imports would rise 2 percent. It said retail sales were likely to maintain a robust growth, amounting to 10.5 percent year-on-year, in 2016.

In the first nine months of this year, China’s economy grew 6.9 percent, meaning that for the full year, economic expansion is likely to be at the lowest annual level in 25 years.