At a panel discussion on the sidelines of this year's CPPCC annual session, Wang Xinkui, one of the planners for the Shanghai FTZ, suggested setting up more FTZs in key cities as soon as possible and encouraged research on how to expand each pilot zone.

The latest experiment in the Shanghai FTZ came just a few days before the CPPCC National Committee convened its annual session. The central bank announced in late February that interest rate ceilings on smaller foreign-currency deposits in the zone would be removed starting in March.

Foreign firms may be happy about the news that they will face fewer barriers to entry in the year ahead.

Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, said the "negative list" identifying bans or restrictions on foreign investment in the FTZ will be made shorter in its 2014 update.

For foreigners seeking China gold, the FTZ means more of an opportunity than a challenge.

"It's a good thing that China opens up its trade zones more," said Irish sales manager Niall Bryson, who is trying his luck in an entrepreneurship program to help foreigners start businesses.