The IAAF Council meeting in Monaco chose the Chinese city ahead of the two other bidders for the event – Toruń in Poland, and the Serbian capital Belgrade.

"All three bids were absolutely outstanding," said Sebastian Coe, the IAAF President.

"All three cities would have been able to have staged a wonderful indoor athletics championship, and it is our intention to make sure the two bids that did not prevail today are encouraged to throw their hats back in the ring."

Since succeeding Lamine Diack as IAAF President during the 2015 IAAF World Championships n Bejing, Coe has been in charge of an organisation that has had to deal with shocking revelations of corruption at the highest level.

The 84-year-old Senegalese  was charged with corruption and aggravated money laundering as part of a French investigation on November 4, 2015. 

He has been held under house arrest in Paris as an investigation continues.

Among other things, he is accused of involvement in a plot to accept money in return for the covering up of doping cases.

An investigation is also exploring allegations that he received money in return for influencing the result of Olympic bid processes for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Games.

In Monaco on December 3 last year, Coe hailed an open, 182-10 vote at an IAAF Special Congress  in favour of constitutional reforms, calling it "a historic day for our sport".

Almost a year on in the same Principality he reflected:: "We have come a long way in the last two years in making the house safe, and putting in a system that will serve this sport very well.

"We will continue with our reforms.

"The Athletics Integrity Unit was already up and running effectively from April, but some other steps may take until 2019.

"As we are seeing, area and Member Federation alignment that we go on continuing to articulate the reasons for these reforms.

"That doesn’t mean we are not now focusing relentlessly on changes of format, rules, revenue raising, one-day meetings, the Diamond League and a coordinated calendar.

"As you have seen we are still addressing the issue of transfers of allegiance.

"It is for Council to make sure we have the right structures in place to make this work in a coordinated way.

"The message I have been receiving from athletes is that they want to be a part of this journey.

"They really feel they have something to add that can shape that journey, and they want rapid change.

"They are pressing us a Council to make a range of changes as quickly and as safely as we can."

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