The Chinese influence will be a sea-change in southern Africa. Like locusts, they want to loot the continent’s abundant natural resources. But they don’t want to colonize it. They just want the stuff. So the locals will be the labor force to dig it out of the ground for them. Those workers need a stable local food supply.
The Chinese will see to it that the any farmers who know how to grow food are taken care of to guarantee that local food supply.
Yes, they’re exactly like locusts — swarming insects in human form.