Promoting reform and development through openness has been a successful practice in China’s reform and development journey. Institutional openness is a key pathway to achieving high-level openness，and free trade pilot zones are crucial tools for constructing a new system of an open economy. This paper defines core theoretical concepts such as the definition，connotation，and extension of institutional openness. The main challenges in implementing measures of institutional openness within free trade pilot zones include differences in aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules，insufficient reform authority，lack of clear implementation entities for institutional innovation，and ensuring that institutional innovation promotes economic development and enterprise growth. To address these issues，it is recommended to unify autonomous openness with agreement-based openness，build comprehensive service platforms and an international business environment，cultivate new forms and models of trade，strengthen the alignment and openness of service trade systems，advance the alignment and openness of green trade systems，and promote the orderly flow of cross-border data through rule convergence.