The International Maritime Organization has ratified the performance standard of a receiver of the shipborne BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), the Ministry of Transport revealed Wednesday.

This is the first BDS to be standard approved by an international organization. It marks the first step for China's home-grown system in its quest to go global, according to the ministry.

The move is key to the application of BDS in the international maritime field and its industrial development, the ministry said.

The first satellite for the BDS plan was launched in 2000. China wants to expand the regional navigation system to global coverage by around 2020.

Also on Wednesday, BDS spokesman Ran Chengqi said at a symposium in Nanjing that China has started the last phase of the BDS development plan, and is expanding the system's market share at home.

As of the end of March, the sale of BDS/GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) modules exceeded two million, Ran said.

Moreover, he said that over 40 million mobile phones with BeiDou positioning function have been put into market, and vehicle-mounted BDS navigators designed for more than 200 automobile types have been on sale.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2014)