BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s December exports and imports grew slower than expected as the second largest economy in the world showed signs of slowing. However, exports were just ahead of expectations due to continued solid global demand.

Customs data on Friday showed that exports increased by 20.9% last month, after rising 22% in November 2021. A Reuters poll showed that analysts expected the exports to rise 20%.

China’s exports have outperformed all expectations in 2021. This has buoyed growth while other sectors had been struggling. However, shipments are slowing due to an increase in overseas demand and the high cost of goods.

The December customs data revealed that imports increased 19.5% year over year, which was lower than the 26.3% increase forecasted and sharply below November’s 31.7% gain.

China reported a $94.46 billion trade surplus last month, which was higher than the $74.50 billion forecast in the poll. China had a $71.72billion surplus in November.

The total number of exports for 2021 was 29.9% higher than the 3.6% growth in 2020. After falling by 1.1 percent in 2020, imports increased 30.1%% for 2019.

Although the world’s second largest economy is showing impressive signs of recovery after the pandemic, there are still some concerns. The outlook for 2022 is clouded by a property slump and COVID-19 restrictions.

The government will implement more policies to support exporters and reduce international logistics pressure, the official Xinhua news media agency stated in December. It cited Premier Li Keqiang’s meeting as the source.

China’s vice minister of commerce said Dec. 30, that China would have difficulty stabilizing its foreign trade by 2022 because other exporters are increasing their production, and China has a lower base for comparison.

China’s top leaders vowed to work together in order to stabilize the economy and keep growth within an acceptable range during a crucial agenda-setting meeting held last month.