A press conference on leveraging Beijing's strategic role as the national capital to develop new quality productive forces in a drive to enhance the city's high-quality development is held in Beijing, capital of China, March 19, 2024. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Municipality will focus on building itself into a major international sci-tech innovation center and leverage its strategic role as the national capital to develop new quality productive forces in a drive to enhance the city's high-quality development, local authorities said on Tuesday.

In recent years, Beijing's efforts have achieved remarkable results. The city has topped the list of "Nature Index -- Science Cities" for eight consecutive years, ranking among the most innovative cities in the world, the city's mayor Yin Yong said at a press conference.

The volume of technology contract transactions in Beijing exceeded 850 billion yuan (about 119.74 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, with an average of 337 technology enterprises established each day.

In the face of a new round of global technological and industrial changes, the capital will continue to make efforts to improve its sci-tech research capabilities, deepen the reform of the sci-tech system, and strengthen the cultivation and introduction of talent, Yin said.

"We will concentrate on breaking through key core technologies and aim at the commanding heights of industrial development in more than 20 directions, such as future information, health, manufacturing, energy, materials and space," Yin added.

The metropolis has upgraded its urban management over the years, especially in the field of high-level autonomous driving. Three years ago, it took the lead in adopting the vehicle-road collaboration technology to promote the development of autonomous driving technology, according to Yin.

The area for autonomous driving in Beijing will expand from 160 square kilometers to 600 square kilometers this year, and the application of the technology will be accessible at five major railway stations as well as Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport.

"We hope to attract more leading enterprises and R&D institutions to the field of autonomous driving, and to improve the upstream and downstream supporting facilities of the industrial chain. We welcome all kinds of capital, especially long-term capital, to increase investment in this field," Yin said.