The official car agreement, which was brokered by Infront Sports & Media, covers the CBA League, the CBA All-Star Game and the men's national team through to the 2016-2017 season.

As official partner of China's flagship basketball events FAW-Volkswagen will be involved across all 380 games of the Chinese Men's Basketball Professional League, including the regular season starting in November, the playoffs and the popular CBA All-Star Weekend.

The firm will also be involved in about 20 national team matches per year and will feature in on-court LED advertising, game break promotion activities and special events with players, as well as part of the CBA logo.

The deal could ensure significant exposure for FAW-Volkswagen as CBA events reach huge televisions audiences.

The final six games of the CBA Professional League alone this year reached a cumulative television audience of 162 million on CCTV and other regional networks in China, while the CBA All-Star Game reaches average cumulative audiences of around 100 million and the national men's warm-up matches equate to an additional 62 million.

Basketball is one of China's most popular sports ©AFP/Getty Images

"The breadth of the FAW-Volkswagen agreement - spanning three seasons and the entire scope of Chinese basketball, is testament to the commercial power of the versatile platform and its appeal to consumers in China and beyond," Ma Guoli, chairman of the board of Infront China, said.

"Securing cumulative TV audiences of up to 600 million per year, there is no other sports product in the country that can offer such vast levels of exposure and impact.

"Building on our exclusive marketing concept, state-of-the-art advertising solutions and activation support, we will support FAW-Volkswagen to implement its partnership most efficiently."

Hu Hanjie, FAW-Volkswagen general manager, said it is a "great honour" to partner with the CBA.

"The agreement demonstrates our commitment to supporting the development of Chinese basketball," Hu added.

"The partnership is a strong fit and a great milestone achievement for both sides - with the CBA League as the best professional league in China and FAW-Volkswagen as the top car manufacturer in China.

"The full energy characteristics of the sport, its appeal to young people and the team sport character suits the core values of FAW-Volkswagen very well."

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