BEIJING -- China will continue to facilitate foreign investment and enhance the protection of intellectual property rights in efforts to improve the investment environment, a senior official said Wednesday.

"Improving investment environment and protecting the legal rights of foreign investors are not only the government's promises but also what the government is doing," Yu Jianhua, assistant minister of commerce, told reporters at a press conference.

The country is now revising the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, aiming to encourage foreign investment in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, new energy and environmental protection, Yu said.

According to the ministry statistics, the country's foreign direct investment rose by 18.4 percent year-on-year to $60.89 billion in the first half of this year.