BEIJIG - China will continue to develop intelligent manufacturing in the next five years to digitize the country's manufacturing sector and generate new growth impetus.

By 2020, key areas of China's traditional manufacturing will be upgraded to digital manufacturing, according to the 2016-2020 plan on intelligent manufacturing development released on Thursday.

The five-year plan, jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance, said intelligent manufacturing improves production efficiency, reduces costs and energy consumption, and fosters new growth impetus.

In the next five years, China will research and develop a set of key technical equipment for intelligent manufacturing, make key technological breakthroughs in intelligent manufacturing and set intelligent manufacturing standards, said the plan.

China will establish a support system for intelligent manufacturing by 2025, according to the plan.

Intelligent manufacturing is the core of China's "Made in China 2025" plan rolled out in May 2015 to shift the country away from low-end manufacturing to more value-added production.

The national plan focuses on 10 priority sectors, including advanced rail, aviation and aerospace, agricultural machinery and technology, and new generation information technology.