BEIJING - A Chinese political advisor on Tuesday refuted commentators' accusations that China's investment conditions are deteriorating, claiming instead that the country's foreign investment is at a relatively high level.

"Some media or commentators think that China's investment environment is deteriorating. With that I cannot agree," said Ma Xiuhong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Ma made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing CPPCC annual session.

Ma, who is a former vice minister of commerce, said China's utilization of foreign investment in 2011 reached a record high of $116 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year.

"The growth of 10 percent is rather high under the backdrop of low transnational investment globally," Ma said, adding that more than 27,000 foreign companies set up new businesses in China within the year.

"Foreign investment is playing a more and more important role in the country's economic development," Ma said.

Registered foreign companies in China account for nearly 3 percent of the country's enterprises in number, but their tax revenue accounts for 21 percent of national total, she added.

Ma said, "China should continuously improve the investment environment so as to create a more favorable environment for the development of foreign companies."