This dissertation examines labor and corporate-community relations of Chinese agricultural investment in Zambia through an ethnographic analysis of workplace practices, labor control strategies, strike outcomes, and corporate social responsibility. Drawing on a comparative study of two large-scale commercial farms owned by the same Chinese multinational company in Zambia, the study explains how labor and community relations were developed, mediated, and contested. I find that Chinese agricultural investments in Africa did not unfold through uniform processes. Instead, the outcomes of these investments, in terms of labor and community relations, were contingent on the interaction between structural conditions and the strategic behaviors of individual actors. This dissertation includes four empirical chapters. The first chapter traced the emergence of uneven labor regimes across the two farms, highlighting how local labor market conditions, farm histories, and workforce compositions shaped the forms and intensity of labor control. The second chapter centers on the precarious role of Zambian supervisors, who navigated pressures from both Chinese managers and local workers and adopted divergent labor control strategies. These strategies, shaped by workforce stability and social embeddedness, directly influenced the labor conditions of farm workers. The third chapter turns to worker resistance by analyzing two wildcat strikes. It shows how the outcomes of strikes were affected not only by workers’ agency but also by the responses and tactical choices of the management, which in turn were shaped by the farm’s relationships with the community, past experiences, interactions with labor unions, and individual managerial decisions. Finally, the fourth chapter explores how Chinese farm managers implemented corporate social responsibility practices. The findings show that considerations of reputational effects and operational needs drove the CSR efforts. The management employed subtle strategies to limit CSR commitments while maintaining community relations. And the perceptions of CSR efforts by community members were shaped by their past experiences. Together, this research contributes to a nuanced understanding of Chinese agricultural investments in Africa, moving beyond monolithic narratives to reveal the dynamic and negotiated realities that define their actual impacts on local communities and labor conditions.