Industrial value-added output of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grew 16.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2011, 2.5 percentage points higher than the overall industrial value-added output level, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Wednesday.

However, the number of SMEs reporting losses rose 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to reach 15.8 percent for the first two months of the year, with total losses up 22.3 percent year-on-year, MIIT chief engineer and spokesman Zhu Hongren said at a press conference concerning China's first-quarter industrial operations.

Zhu said global uncertainties, including the international financial crisis, unrest in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis, have had more significant effects on SMEs, especially export-oriented SMEs, in comparison to large enterprises.

In addition, rising production costs and financing difficulties are prominent among the country's SMEs, he said.

"We have paid great attention to the current situation and problems encountered by SMEs. We are now working with other departments to study the issue and will come up with policies to give more support to SMEs," he said.

He noted that Chinese SMEs have become an important force in driving the country's industrial development, as they reported 41.7-percent and 31.1-percent year-on-year increases in profits and taxes paid, respectively, in the first two months of this year.

Average employment for SMEs rose 10.4 percent year-on-year during the same period, Zhu added.