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No. 12: Beijing
The Chinese capital is among a growing number of cities in emerging countries—others include Moscow, Shanghai, and Dubai—whose continued march toward prosperity could soon challenge traditional leaders in the U.S. and Europe. Beijing's main business is business. It has the fifth-largest number of Global 500 company headquarters and ranks ninth for the number of global industry conferences held there. Beijing also is a rising hub of diplomacy, with the eighth-largest number of embassies and trade missions.
