BEIJING, May 19 -- China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have maintained a recovery trend this year, as evident from a notable upswing across a range of key indexes, said an official on Friday.

As multiple policies have been introduced by the central as well as local governments to help SMEs recover from the impact of COVID-19, their business performance picked up and expectations improved, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xu Xiaolan told a press conference.

The sales index of SMEs rebounded for the second straight month in March, while the "little giant" firms saw their profitability reach 9.6 percent.

The "little giant" firms represent the novel elites of SMEs that specialize in a niche market, boast cutting-edge technologies, and show great potential.

Xu, however, noted that the current recovery of SMEs falls short of robustness and emphasized the need for increased support to help them cope with challenges in order to enhance their competitiveness and boost their development.