Although the starting point of the Chinese version of Industry 4.0 is high, if there is a lack of standards, there is a risk of marginalization in the early stages of development.

In 2014, the added value of China's manufacturing industry exceeded 3.2 trillion US dollars, ranking first in the world. Among more than 500 major industrial products, the production of over 200 products ranked first in the world. Even so, China's manufacturing industry is still "large but not strong", with shortcomings such as lack of technology, weak quality foundation, lack of multinational enterprises and well-known brands, and low resource utilization efficiency. These shortcomings also lead to a disadvantaged position for China's manufacturing industry in the face of the new situation.

In China, the transformation demand faced by "Made in China" is more urgent. Data shows that the R&D investment intensity of large and medium-sized enterprises in China is less than 1%, and the level of small and medium-sized enterprises is lower, with a result conversion rate of only about 10%; The proportion of general processing industries and resource intensive industries is too high, while the proportion of technology intensive industries is relatively low; Convergence of regional industrial structure, severe duplication of construction and overcapacity in some industries; The supply capacity of high-end equipment manufacturing and productive service industries is significantly insufficient, and high-end equipment in the fields of electronics, automobiles, and aviation is basically monopolized by foreign countries.

Internationally, Made in China faces two-way oppression. Developed countries' strategy of "re industrialization" is to seize the high-end of the manufacturing industry. At the same time, some developing countries are taking advantage of lower labor costs in the middle and low end of the manufacturing industry. There is a trend of 'Made in Vietnam', 'Made in India', and 'Made in Indonesia' surpassing 'Made in China'.

The severe situation has forced the transformation from "Made in China" to "Made in China". In the process of transformation, "Made in China" has little say in standards and is basically at the mid to low end of the global value chain. In terms of international standards, China's dominance accounts for less than 0.5%. Even products with a certain market share in the international market still rely on imports in many aspects due to a lack of standards.

The transformation of the manufacturing industry, that is, the development of the Chinese version of 4.0, should not be ignored with standards first. Standards are the foundation of quality and have a fundamental and strategic position in market and industrial development. China cannot move from a manufacturing powerhouse to a manufacturing powerhouse without the protection of standards. Only by developing internationally accepted standards that can be adopted by all parties and converted into practical solutions can the confidence of enterprises and users be enhanced. In addition, it is necessary to prioritize standards as an important component of improving the innovation capacity of the national manufacturing industry, only in this way can the Chinese version of Industry 4.0 truly take root and land.