I. Introduction

Introduces President Xi Jinping’s "Prosper Africa and Benefit the People Partnership Initiative" proposed at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, highlighting China’s food aid and agricultural cooperation with Africa. It also points out the severe food security challenges in Africa, including low self-sufficiency rates, reliance on Western funding, and the impact of neoliberal policies. China’s rise offers Africa more policy options and holds promise for improving its food security predicament.

II. Existing Research and Its Shortcomings

Discusses the impact of China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa on African food security and identifies gaps in current research. On one hand, China’s FDI is seen as positively improving African food security through technology spillovers and economic environment enhancements, though constrained by Africa’s human capital, timeframes, and investment structures. On the other hand, some studies argue that China’s FDI worsens African food security through practices like land purchases, but this view overlooks the limited scale of Chinese farmland acquisitions in Africa, the commercial nature of private enterprises, and the diversity of China’s agricultural investments in Africa. The article contends that the root of Africa’s food security crisis lies in the constraints of the "core-periphery" world system structure. China’s FDI differs fundamentally from traditional South-South cooperation or North-South dialogue by improving the global division of labor, reducing obstacles to China’s development, unlocking Africa’s economic growth potential, and fostering a mutually beneficial division of labor, thereby positively impacting African food security.

III. Analytical Framework and Research Approach

Explores the impact of China’s FDI on African food security from the perspective of dependency theory, comparing it with U.S. investments in Africa. Dependency theory defines the relationship between developed and developing countries as a "core-periphery" structure, emphasizing the importance of capital accumulation for economic development in developing countries. The article divides capital accumulation into three dimensions—material, human, and political capital—to analyze the effects of "alternative" investments on African food security.

Material capital accumulation is the foundation of industrialization and particularly critical for developing countries. FDI from developed countries primarily flows into resource extraction and cash crop cultivation in developing countries, leading to a mono-economic structure, short industrial chains, and low export value-added. This loss of material capital hinders capital deepening, impedes industrialization and agricultural modernization, and undermines food security. In contrast, "alternative" investments focus on infrastructure, which can translate into material capital accumulation, stimulate the adoption of advanced agricultural technologies, and improve food production conditions.

Human capital accumulation significantly impacts economic productivity. Investments from developed countries are often concentrated in resource-based industries and cash crops, which require low skill and health standards for workers, limiting human capital development. "Alternative" investments in infrastructure, however, demand skilled labor, thereby enhancing human capital and indirectly improving agricultural production conditions.

Political capital accumulation involves the political ties between economic actors and governments. Governments in "periphery" countries rely on foreign investment for revenue, leading to policies favoring foreign interests at the expense of local farmers. "Alternative" capital entering industrialization sectors can strengthen government tax capacity, enhance its ability to plan development goals based on local needs, and modernize policy formulation and implementation systems.

The article concludes that China’s FDI accelerates material, human, and political capital accumulation in African countries, improving local agricultural production environments and benefiting food security. The direct effects of China’s FDI include enhancing agricultural production conditions, while indirect effects involve industrialization’s spillover benefits for agriculture. By comparing China’s investments in Sudan and U.S. investments in Liberia, the article demonstrates how China’s FDI positively impacts Sudan’s agricultural industrialization and food production, whereas U.S. FDI reinforces Liberia’s dependent agricultural model and squeezes local food production capacity—a phenomenon with broader relevance across Africa.

IV. Comparative Case Studies of Chinese and U.S. FDI’s Impact on African Food Security

Africa faces a significant infrastructure investment gap, and China’s FDI enhances productivity through infrastructure development. China’s growing influence in African infrastructure projects, distinct from Western investment models, yields different impacts on food security. Sudan’s food insecurity stems from drought and inadequate water infrastructure, but Chinese-funded projects like the Merowe Dam have significantly improved agricultural conditions, accelerated capital accumulation, and enhanced human and political capital, boosting food security. In contrast, U.S. investments in Liberia focus on rubber production, entrenching reliance on foreign-controlled cash crops, crowding out local food production, and undermining human, material, and political capital accumulation—patterns common in African agriculture, particularly food production.

V. Conclusions and Recommendations

Notes that African countries, despite political independence, remain dependent on Western developed nations, leaving food security fragile. China’s FDI in Africa, concentrated in infrastructure, enhances food import capacity and mitigates capital shortages constraining agricultural development. To improve African food security, China’s FDI could diversify investment content, strengthen multi-tiered development, adopt public-private partnership models to diversify stakeholders and risks, and integrate modern investment concepts like ESG to optimize local social and environmental outcomes.