The country will see to it that by 2020, at least 90 percent of its standards for key domestic equipment manufacturing have been updated to be on par with international ones, according to a meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

Breakthroughs will be made in such key sectors as robotics, advanced rail transportation equipment, agricultural machinery and high-performance medical equipment, according to a statement issued after an executive meeting of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, on April 6 in Beijing.

At present, the adoption rate of international standards for China’s manufacturing industries is 70 percent. That goal was set in 2003 and accomplished before 2008.

The meeting also called for manufacturers to foster “a spirit of craftsmanship” and strive to produce more creative products of higher quality, which is expected to help improve supplies and increase the demand for goods and services.

Substandard products will be removed from the market to reinforce consumer confidence and enhance the competitive edge of domestic manufacturers.

Meanwhile, five stocks associated with robot production at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange surged by the daily limit of 10 percent on Wednesday.

The ramped-up standardization program is deemed as a follow-up policy for the “Made in China 2025” that the premier has promoted since 2014.

The aerospace industry is a key area for “Made in China 2025” and regarded as one of the leading sectors that China will promote as high-end manufacturing in the years ahead.

“International standards are the threshold for exports when China sells its high-end equipment, such as medical and aerospace equipment,” said Wang Ya’nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine. Such efforts will help build China’s reputation in equipment manufacturing in the international market, Wang said.

“China needs to apply international standards in various areas and make a perfect match of industrial designs with the manufacturing process by strengthening training workers who follow the standards,” he added.