Foreign direct investment in China fell for the second straight month in December, as the faltering global economy worried investors.

Investment from overseas was down nearly 13 percent in December from the same month a year earlier.

Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shen Danyang said economic weakness in the United States and Europe was responsible for the drop. Inflows from the U.S. fell 26 percent in 2011, while those from the European Union sank almost 4 percent.

While the rate of foreign investment slowed, the overall figure for 2011 still rose nearly one-tenth to hit a record $116 billion, despite the global economic slowdown.

Shen expressed optimism that investors will soon regain confidence and that the figure would maintain strong growth in 2012.

Last month, China announced it would ease restrictions on foreign investment to attract new investment inflows.

The commerce ministry aims to attract an average of $120 billion in foreign investment in each of the next four years.