Opportunities abound

With domestic demand getting stronger, the Chinese economy may offer an upside growth surprise in 2021 and expand by 9 percent annually, from an estimated 2.1 percent in 2020, Nomura economists said in a research note.

"The Chinese market will likely become the world's largest retail market in 2021," said Honson To, chairman of KPMG China and Asia Pacific, adding that many of the firm's multinational clients are eager to tap into that huge market potential.

"China is a very important market for us," said Keith Budge, executive vice-president for the Asia-Pacific, Japan, Europe, the Middle East and African regions for Teradata, a cloud analytics firm based in the US.

China ranks among Teradata's top 10 largest markets, Budge said, and the company has seen a lot of opportunities to grow its China business, such as in the rising trend of digital transformation.

However, multiple risks remain and could hurt China's economic prospects in 2021, experts said. The normalization of macro policy could expose long-term economic problems, while Chinese exporters may face fiercer competition with other emerging economies amid a synchronized production recovery, Nomura economists said.