BEIJING - China vowed to continue to protect foreign investors' rights and interests and their intellectual property rights, according to a statement issued Sunday after a central economic work conference closed.

The country will step up its effort to stabilize foreign direct investment inflows while expanding its outbound investment next year.

China will also stabilize and increase its share of world markets while boosting imports to support the country's economic restructuring and make its international payment more balanced, according to the two-day conference, one of the nation's most important economic events.