China aims to build a digital silk road as it identifies innovation as the driving force to pursue the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

The nation will focus on frontier areas such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and quantum computing, Xi told the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

"Innovation is an important force powering development. The Belt and Road Initiative is new by nature and we need to encourage innovation in pursuing this initiative," he said.