The head of the International Monetary Fund has urged China to fix its economic imbalances, echoing longstanding calls for the world's second-largest economy to rely more on domestic spending and investment instead of exports.

Just a year ago, Chinese manufacturers, fearing a new trade war, rushed to push out exports following the election victory of President Donald Trump, who had pledged to slap punishing tariffs on imports from China over America’s widening trade deficit with the country.