Perhaps unsurprisingly, Beijing and Shanghai stand out from the pack when both traditional and future-proofing factors are considered. Their sheer size allows them to dominate many of the rankings, further aided by their high concentration of wealth. While Beijing leads the way in areas such as innovation, education and 'next generation' corporations, Shanghai boasts high scores in liveability, environment, and integration within the surrounding region. 

Beijing and Shanghai's diversified strengths and developed economies set them on course to join the elite group of most powerful and globally-connected 'Big Seven' cities within the next five years. Matched only by Los Angeles in this ambition, JLL's report points out that this transition can be accelerated through improvements in environment, market transparency and talent pool depth.