A photo of Tianjin Port. [Photo by Zhang Chenlin/Xinhua]

Except for Qinghai, Jilin, Beijing, Shanxi, Tibet and Hebei, 21 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions all put forward to establish free trade zones, among which at least 16 regions have included applying for FTZs into their working plans for 2016.

Industry experts predict that the government could put a high priority on Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Sichuan provinces and Chongqing municipality.

In August 2013, China established the first pilot FTZ in Shanghai. In April last year, three more FTZs were established in the southern province of Guangdong, the Tianjin municipality in the north and another in the southeastern province of Fujian.