Due to a reduced overseas demand in 2012, China's small- and medium-sized enterprises' business-to-business revenue experienced slow growth in 2012. Things are looking up in 2013. the first quarter of which shows that, due to China's support for foreign trade and favorable policies, small- and medium-sized enterprises' B2B revenues have started to recover.

According to Beijing-based iResearch Consulting Group, the Q1 revenue of SME's B2B market reached 4.62 billion yuan, up 20.6 percent year-on-year and 3.8 percent month-on-month.

Data released by China's General Administration of Customs shows that China's total import and export value was 612 million yuan in the first quarter of this year, up 13.3 percent year-on-year.

According to iResearch, in the first quarter of 2013, among the total revenue of B2B operators in China SMEs, eight major players account for 61.7 percent shares, a decrease of 5 percent year-on-year. Alibaba's share reduced to 39.8 percent, while it is still higher than the others. Rankings of Mysteel, HC360 and DHgate increased by 5.7 percent，3.2 percent and 3.0% percent respectively.

To increase the competitiveness of Chinese brands in world markets, the entry standards of suppliers and service quality guarantees must be managed, accompanying the opening of the B2B market, said iResearch.