China's SMEs see improved performance in Q1

BEIJING - China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported stronger business performance in the first three months of this year, an industry index showed.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index, based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs from eight major industries, came in at 89.3 in the first quarter, up 0.2 points from the previous quarter, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said.

The index rebound was a result of accelerated production after the Spring Festival, as well as increased economic momentum boosted by a raft of policies after the "two sessions," the association said in a report.

The sub-index for industrial production, real estate, and information transmission, computer services and software sectors all expanded compared with the previous quarter, while that for retail and wholesale industry remained flat.

The association cautioned the headwinds ahead amid mounting complexity, severity and uncertainty, calling for efforts to strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments of macro policies, level the playing field for enterprises of all types of ownership and fully implement measures on boosting the growth of private economy.