BEIJING - A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday denied that discrimination existed in China against foreign enterprises operating in the country.

Foreign enterprises have been treated favorably rather than with discrimination over the decades of reform and opening up, Liu Weimin said at a daily news briefing in response to a related question.

"As to the investment environment, foreign investors and companies have the biggest say," said the spokesman, who added that more and more enterprises are investing in China, a surge based on investors' own rational judgement of China as worthy place for investment.

Liu said foreign enterprises need to adapt themselves to the new situation and compete with their Chinese rivals fairly.

As Chinese enterprises grow, they are also willing to compete with foreign companies overseas, he noted.

"The Chinese side has always made all efforts to better the investment environment," Liu said, adding that China will firmly carry on the policy of reform and opening up and make further efforts to resolve the concerns of foreign enterprises.