China's tech hub Shenzhen saw a robust growth in research and development investment in 2018, which accounted for 4.2 percent of the city's GDP last year, according to Wang Weizhong, the city's Party secretary.

Shenzhen has invested heavily in basic research and sped up construction of national-level laboratories to attract talent and boost technological innovation, Wang said when addressing the 17th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, which opened in the city on Sunday.

Wang added that Shenzhen had seen its GDP grow from 196 million yuan (about 29.2 million U.S. dollars) in 1979 to 2.4 trillion yuan in 2018, thanks to the contribution of talent from home and abroad.

Shenzhen is home to a bevy of Chinese startups and tech heavyweights including Huawei and Tencent.