A senior customs official said that China’s exports may halt their declines by December, the Wall Street Journal reported. Huang Guohua, director for international trade statistics analysis with the General Administration of Customs, said exports for 2009 may fall a double-digit percentage, but duty-free imports of materials for the processing trade are increasing, which indicates a future increase in exports as multinational companies stabilize. Huang’s comments were echoed by Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying, who warned that exports will continue to struggle in the second half. "The global economy is unlikely to recover in the short term," Fu said.