Xu Xiang, a private entrepreneur managing a leather export company in Zhejiang province, said a bigger role for the market will benefit the company. "For us, the less government intervention, the better."

He said he hopes the entry threshold for some industries can be lowered further and that interest rate and foreign exchange rate liberalization can be introduced as soon as possible.

Susan Shirk, former deputy assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration in the United States, said, "China has been dependent on foreign investment, because it has a very under-developed domestic capital market.

"So a more developed domestic capital market with fair access to different types of firms inside China, as well as international firms, will be viewed very positively."

Wang Zhengxu, a lecturer at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham in Britain, said the reform plans will make the Chinese economy more dynamic, more efficient, more innovation-driven, consumption-driven and service-oriented.

"Foreign companies with the technologies and know-how in helping China to achieve these goals will enjoy a wide range of opportunities in China," he said.

"In the areas of high value-added manufacturing in electronics and machinery, pharmaceuticals and clean energy — among others — foreign firms have a lot to harness."

Liu said the comprehensive reform package is likely to weigh down China's economic growth in the next one to two years.

"We maintain our view that the Chinese authorities could lower the growth target for the next year to 7 percent," Liu said. The growth target for 2013 is 7.5 percent.

Although China's growth rate is expected to slow, it will not undermine the country's influence on the global economy, Liu added.

The urbanization drive means that demand for housing, infrastructure, energy and agricultural products will grow.

Zhang Yuwei in New York contributed to this story.