This paper investigates the effect of China’s outward foreign direct investment on youth unemployment in West Africa by using a modified labour demand model to clarify whether Chinese investment is helpful in reducing youth unemployment in the region, and whether local human capital and institutional quality influence the studied outcome. The model is applied for a panel of 13 countries for the period 2003-2022, using fixed-effect, FGLS-parks and dynamic system GMM estimators. Our results suggest that Chinese FDI has a significant reducing effect on youth unemployment in West Africa region, and this effect is strongly dependent upon the local stock of human capital and institutional quality. Explanations are provided for the results and policy implications are highlighted, especially the need to attract more Chinese greenfield FDI in labor-absorbing activities and to improve the domestic absorptive capacity. The study reveals other variables that affect youth unemployment in the region together with their policy implications.