BEIJING -- British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca signed a landmark $2.5-billion agreement on Friday to invest in Beijing over the next five years, signaling the multinational's confidence in the world's second-largest economy.

The deal was inked with the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, commonly known as e-town, where the company's northern China headquarters is located.

It marks the largest single investment in Beijing's biopharmaceutical sector in recent years, spanning multiple stages from research and development (R&D) to manufacturing and commercialization.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will establish a global strategic R&D center in Beijing, its sixth worldwide and second in China after one in Shanghai. The new center, equipped with an advanced artificial intelligence and data science laboratory, will accelerate early-stage drug research and clinical development.

Additionally, the pharmaceutical titan will form a new joint venture with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd. in Beijing to develop, manufacture, and commercialize innovative medicines targeting respiratory and other infectious diseases.

"The investment highlights our confidence in Beijing's world-class life sciences innovation ecosystem, extensive collaborative opportunities, and exceptional talent pool," AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in an interview with Xinhua.