The record investment will be made by e-commerce giant Alibaba, through their Alisports sports division, with the aim of unlocking the rugby potential of China.

It comes after the company agreed a 10-year strategic partnership with World Rugby and the China Rugby Football Association in April, with the funding now set to be used to support targeted projects over the next decade to drive the performance of the national teams and grow participation in the country.

"World Rugby's strategic mission is to grow the global rugby family," said World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper, speaking at the launch event in Shanghai.

"China is central to that mission and we are delighted to be announcing further details of our ground-breaking plans in partnership with Alisports and the China Rugby Football Association.

"Driven by a common vision, ambitious but attainable goals and an unprecedented investment programme, we are confident that we can build a strong and sustainable platform from which to ensure that China is in the best-possible position to become a major force on the international stage with strong men's and women's sevens and 15s teams, sustainable leagues, model development and participation programmes and real major event hosting potential."

Four main goals were outlined as part of the investment package, with the development of the first-ever professional men's and women's 15s leagues, as well as national sevens programmes, seen as key.

To achieve the aim, dedicated high-performance pathways and support structures will be established.

World Rugby's Get Into Rugby mass participation programme will also be run in 10,000 universities and schools across 20 different provinces, with the ambition to attract one million new players in five years.

Development programmes to train 30,000 coaches and 15,000 match officials by 2020 will also be put in place, while a nationwide rugby marketing and promotion initiative will be carried out by Alisports, who will carry rugby content on their TV and digital platforms.

The investment is also aimed at building on the growing popularity of the sport in Asia ahead of Japan's hosting of Rugby World Cup in 2019, as well as rugby sevens' Olympic Games inclusion.

Participation in China has already increased by 40 per cent in the last 12 months to 76,000 players, it is claimed.

"Rugby is a great Olympic team sport with strong values, which is why we are so excited about its undoubted potential in China," said Zhang Dazhong, Alisports' chief executive.

"We have a great partner in World Rugby and together we will work tirelessly to promote the development of rugby in China with a goal of inspiring one million new players in five years.

"With the support of World Rugby and a strong strategic plan, we believe that rugby in China will take off as an attractive, inclusive mass-participation sport of sportsmanship and character."