Since 2004, the fund provider has managed the $9.4 billion Hong Kong-domiciled iShares FTSE A50 China Index ETF, which uses derivatives known as China A-share access products to replicate mainland stock performance.

CSOP Asset Management, which runs the $6 billion CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF, the world's second-largest exchange-traded fund investing in Chinese mainland stocks, filed to create a US version of the Hong Kong-registered ETF three days after BlackRock's filing.

"This ETF product offering, the A-share suite, is one of many steps in the right direction to get global investors exposure to Chinese mainland," Chris Hempstead, the head of ETF sales at KCG Holdings Inc in Jersey City, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview. "It's natural people want to own the companies that will win the most from an expanding and growing Chinese economy. People are tired of watching on the sidelines, they want to be involved."

While there are at least four other US-registered exchange-traded funds investing in Chinese A shares, including products from Van Eck Securities Corp's Market Vectors, Invesco Ltd's PowerShares and Krane Funds Advisors LLC, none have taken off like the Deutsche Bank ETF. The largest, the Market Vectors ChinaAMC A-Share fund, has about $30 million in assets, Bloomberg data show.

Deutsche Bank and its sub-adviser, Harvest Global Investments Ltd, continue to work with Chinese authorities and other sources to increase the fund's RQFII quota, according to Kittsley. They are also exploring other means to access the market, including taking advantage of a bourse link set to start this month between Hong Kong and Shanghai that will allow a net 23.5 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of daily cross-border equity purchases.

"We view the Hong Kong-Shanghai Connect as another avenue to open up the A-share market to non-Chinese investors," Kittsley said. "Down the road it may be an avenue that would allow the fund to access specific securities, but it isn't something we'd do right now."

Unified securities account platform launched	Shanghai-HK Stock Connect: All you need to know