Based on recent developments, including the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Shanghai, Kazakhstan and China's agreement to expand bilateral flight services, and Kazakhstan's 24th-place ranking in the 2026 KidsRights Index, Qazinform News Agency presents its weekly review of foreign media coverage.
Xinhua: Xi meets Kazakh President in Shanghai Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Shanghai on Thursday, where the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation, Xinhua reports. Tokayev was visiting China to attend the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.
Xi said the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership continues to gain momentum and called for closer coordination of development strategies. He urged stronger cooperation in trade, cross-border e-commerce, energy, transport and artificial intelligence, saying China is ready to share digital and AI technologies to support Kazakhstan's digital transformation.
Tokayev described China as Kazakhstan's top foreign policy priority and said Astana seeks to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, transport, energy, agriculture and the digital economy. He also expressed Kazakhstan's readiness to work closely with China on global AI governance and within multilateral organizations.
Following the talks, the two presidents oversaw the signing of cooperation agreements covering trade, transport, finance and media. The Times of Central Asia: Kazakhstan leads Central Asia with 24th place in KidsRights Index Kazakhstan ranked 24th out of 194 countries in the 2026 KidsRights Index, making it the only country from Eastern Europe and Central Asia to place in the global top 25, The Times of Central Asia reports.
Published annually by the Amsterdam-based KidsRights Foundation in partnership with Erasmus University Rotterdam, the index assesses how countries uphold children's rights using United Nations data. Kazakhstan earned an overall score of 0.797, with its strongest results in protection (0.944) and health (0.900).
It also scored 0.847 for life, 0.765 for education, and 0.583 for the enabling environment for children's rights. The report said conflict-related sexual violence against children rose by 35% from 2024, while more than one in five children now live within range of armed conflict.
It also noted that, for the first time, overweight and obesity among children aged 5 to 19 now exceed underweight globally.