No 10 Amsterdam (score: 101)

Aerial view of Amsterdam and canals. [Photo/IC]

Beijing ranked 3rd in the world's top cities in terms of economic clout, but it faces the challenge of high costs, according to PwC's biennial "Cities of Opportunity" report.

It showed that Beijing ranked 19th in the overall rankings, even though it ranked third in indicators of its role as a gateway city and economic clout and also made significant improvement in indicators of intellectual capital, innovation and technology readiness.

Shanghai ranked 21st overall, coming seventh in the gateway and economic clout indicators, but it faces challenges in terms of cost and ease of doing business.

The PwC report on the cities of opportunity provided balanced benchmarking of the social and economic health of 30 of the world's leading cities by measuring the cities' performances against 10 indicators, including intellectual capital and innovation, quality of life, transportation and infrastructure, health, economic clout and cost.

Let's take a look at the top 10 cities in terms of economic clout in the world.