The number of research and development institutions in Changsha, Hunan province, has increased by 866 since September last year, and the city has 7,842 high-tech enterprises, according to a summit held from Sunday to Monday.

The increase comes after the city set the goal of building itself into a global center for research and development last year.

The city's overall investment in research and development is expected to reach 50 billion yuan ($7 billion), officials and experts said at the 2024 Internet Yuelu Summit.

The city has made breakthroughs on 114 key and core technologies in the past year, which have resulted in contract deals worth 135.4 billion yuan, they said.

Changsha rolled out 10 new policies to attract talent as part of the initiative. In the last year, 670 national and provincial workers trained in technology have come to work in the city. The number of foreign experts also increased by 14 percent year-on-year, they said.

Hunan's digital economy reached 1.7 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 34 percent of the province's overall GDP, marking the sixth straight year of double-digit growth.

More than 1,000 people, including senior government officials and leading entrepreneurs, attended the summit.