They have also introduced further restrictions on the way in which non-Chinese players can be used in the Chinese Super League.

Clubs who are already in debt but buy foreign players in the forthcoming transfer window -- which opens on June 19 -- will have to pay an equivalent fee into a development fund.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) wants the move to ensure that less money goes out of the game in inflated transfer fees and salaries.

"To benefit the healthy and steady development of professional football leagues and curb the irrational spending on players, those clubs which are in the red should pay the same sums of money as they are spending on buying players to the Chinese Football Development Fund," the CFA said in a statement.

"The money will be used for the development of local young players and the promotion of football in China. The new policy will be introduced from the coming summer transfer window."

The move will have an impact on many clubs' ability to sign big-name players from overseas, with Chinese Super League teams again having been linked with players including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wayne Rooney and Diego Costa.

The Chinese football authorities have also announced that, from next season, clubs will have to field the same number of players under the age of 23 as they do players from outside China in an attempt increase opportunities.

The regulation expands upon a rule brought in just before the current season when clubs were told they must field at least one player under 23 from the start of each game.

That ruling has seen several coaches, including Shanghai SIPG's Andre Villas-Boas, seek to circumvent the restrictions by substituting the player aged under 23 in the early stages of a game, a move that has drawn criticism.