China will provide emergency food assistance to some African nations, President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with leaders from the continent.

Food inflation has surged in Africa since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict stoked an increase in fuel and fertilizer costs that contributed to double-digit increases in food costs from Nigeria to Ethiopia. Trade restrictions to control the cost of staples is contributing to shortages in the region.

Beijing will also help countries on the continent to expand grain cultivation and encourage Chinese companies to invest in agriculture, Xi said during the China-Africa dialog, which followed the BRICS summit that concluded earlier on Thursday.

“China and Africa should cooperate in calling for the creation of institutional mechanisms that will have the stature, form and global trust to effectively manage matters of global peace and security,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

(Updates with Ramaphosa comment in fourth paragraph.)