There was only one topic on the agenda for the State Council executive meeting on Aug 24 — improving the quality of Chinese consumer goods.

Premier Li Keqiang said at the meeting that quality standards should be raised to force the whole industrial chain of Chinese manufacturing to improve.

A “quality revolution” should be launched for “Made in China”, a story from China Business News reported.

Why is so much attention paid to the quality of Chinese products by the government? Because Chinese consumers’ demands are constantly rising.

After several decades of Chinese economic reform, a large group of middle-income citizens has emerged, which have higher demands for quality than before. However, the quality and innovation of many products made in China has not caught up.

“Compared with some developed countries, the competitiveness of China’s consumer products is not strong,” Premier Li said.

Therefore, it is not unexpected that overseas purchases by Chinese consumers was as high as 1.5 trillion yuan ($225 billion) in 2015, according to Gao Hucheng, the Minister of Commerce at a news conference on Feb 23, 2016.

Officials fear that if the standard and quality of Chinese consumer goods is not improved, the credibility of “Made in China” among Chinese — as well as international consumers — will be damaged, which will have a negative effect on the domestic market and foreign trade, China Business News said.

According to a statement released after the executive meeting, the government will introduce compulsory quality standards on sectors including food, home appliances, electronics, clothing, cosmetics, daily chemical products, and sports goods, Xinhua News Agency reported.

What is the most important factor in the quality revolution? According to Premier Li, it is “entrepreneurship” and “craftsmanship”. With these two, continuous innovation and refinement of “Made in China” will be achieved.