City has all the right credentials

Professor's suggestion that Beijing is not global enough is simply ridiculous

Has Beijing become a true global metropolis? If professor Ren Yuan at Fudan University's school of social development and public policy is to be believed, both here and Shanghai lack even international stature.

In comments that received wide coverage in the Chinese media, Ren cites the small share of the capital's population that is made up of expatriates (below 1 percent). In London and New York, expats make up 30 percent and 16 percent of the population respectively. However, other yardsticks, such as a city's political and economic significance, infrastructure, iconic architecture and cultural scene, surely matter more in defining global status.