The Emerging Cities Outlook measures the likelihood that cities in low-and middle-income counties will improve their global positioning over the next 10 to 20 years. Source: A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook

Beijing has beaten out Seoul, Brussels, Singapore, and its US counterpart, Washington DC, to earn a place among the world's most globally influential cities, a new survey has shown.

The Chinese capital was ranked eighth, ascending into the top 10 for first time, according to the 2014 AT Kearney Global Cities Index (GCI) released today on Monday.

The GCI, conducted every two years since 2008, measures the level of global engagement for 84 cities across five dimensions – business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.

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The result is a comprehensive measurement of a city's global influence rather than an evaluation that focuses only on business.

Beijing's rise in the rankings was attributed to sharp progress in four out of five GCI criteria: activities of Fortune 500 companies, employees at international schools, number of broadband subscribers, and cultural exchanges between museums.

The Global Cities Index is a tool that business executives can use to identify locations for regional headquarters that have the potential to attract and retain top talent. Many cities are also using the Global Cities Index to benchmark their development initiatives

Another Chinese city in the elite class is Hong Kong, which has remained No 5 for the last six years. This year, however, Hong Kong saw a significant drop in information exchange from No 4 to No 9, and was overtaken by Beijing and London in business activity and by Tokyo and Chicago in human capital.

Although Beijing is still three slots behind Hong Kong, its role as the political and cultural center of China has propelled the capital past Hong Kong in terms of business activity, cultural exchange and political engagement.

Still, a more international and educated group of citizens and a better ability to facilitate quick and free information exchange have helped Hong Kong to secure a higher overall score than Beijing.