China is to further promote the establishment of free trade zones with other countries and enhance bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation next year, according to the central economic work conference which closed on Wednesday.

The three-day conference said China will turn a new page in its opening-up drive in 2008 by opening wider to the outside world, optimizing the structure of the opened sectors and improving the environment for foreign investors.

China will try to develop new advantages while joining the international economic cooperation and competition amid the course of globalization, the conference said.

It urged related departments to step up the transformation of the ways of increasing foreign trade, improve the structure of exported goods, stick to the win-by-quality principle and enhance their capacity to cope with fluctuations in international markets.

It also advocated creating new ways of utilizing foreign investment and making better use of the money.

"The domestic work and the opening-up drive shall be planned in a coordinated way so that the country's economy can stand various challenges through various channels," the conference said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2007)