The global economic recovery is strong and accelerating but it faces threats from weak wage growth and overheating financial markets, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Speaking in front of an audience in Hong Kong, David Lipton, a senior official at the world's lender of last resort, praised China’s growth, noting that it accounted for a third of global expansion.

“The sun is shining on the global economy”, Mr Lipton said, as the recovery goes from "strength to strength" and consumer demand grows.

His optimism came with substantial caveats, however.

Chief among Mr Lipton’s warnings was that “the rapid appreciation of asset valuations” during the past year ought to “heighten our concern” about how susceptible to a crash some financial markets might be.