Signing more FTAs will help China expand and stabilize external markets and achieve higher-level opening-up, especially as the country proactively makes adjustments to meet related requirements, such as adopting stricter rules for environmental protection and leveling the playing field for market entities, he said.

A new round of higher-level opening-up will also facilitate China's deepening reforms and help build a more transparent and law-abiding domestic market with a better business environment, which will inject new impetus into China's rapid economic growth and further contribute to the world economy, according to Huo.

Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said expanding the free trade area network with a global reach is a long-term opening-up strategy for China.

Apart from facilitating goods and services trade, FTAs also provide platforms to establish widely adopted and universally accepted rules in areas such as the digital economy and environmental protection, he said.

However, the establishment of more FTAs requires not only efforts from China but also its trading partners, he added.

China had notable achievements in promoting multilateral trading in 2020, with the signing of the RCEP in mid-November and the conclusion of negotiations for the China-EU investment treaty at the end of the year.

With the RCEP to take effect soon, China will strengthen promotion and training on FTAs to ensure enterprises benefit more from them, according to Wang.