Coupling characteristics of China's food-energy-water nexus and its implications for regional livelihood well-being

Food, energy, and water (FEW) form the foundation of human livelihoods and support a wide range of socio-economic activities. These resources are interconnected across regions and sectors through complex supply chains linking upstream production and downstream consumption. In the context of increasing population pressure, resource constraints, and environmental challenges, examining FEW interactions from a supply-chain perspective is essential for understanding regional sustainability and livelihood well-being. This study constructs a multi-regional and multi-sector FEW flow network for China using provincial input–output data to capture cross-regional FEW linkages embedded in economic activities. Critical supply chains and key nodes within the FEW system are identified, and their performance is evaluated by jointly considering economic benefits, resource consumption, and associated environmental impacts. This integrated assessment helps reveal inefficiencies related to resource waste and excessive environmental pressures. In addition, regional livelihood well-being associated with the FEW nexus is evaluated from three dimensions: availability, accessibility, and stability. Based on these analyses, the study further investigates how individual FEW subsystems and their interactions influence regional livelihood well-being through supply-chain connections. The results show that agriculture, the food processing industry, and the construction sector play central roles in China’s FEW system. However, several important supply chains and regions exhibit relatively low performance due to inefficient resource use or high environmental burdens. Moreover, in many regions, FEW-related livelihood well-being does not correspond to their level of economic development or their position within supply chains, indicating notable spatial disparities. These findings suggest that improving livelihood well-being and regional sustainability requires coordinated management of FEW systems across regions. Strengthening interregional economic and trade cooperation, together with providing appropriate ecological compensation to regions that supply large amounts of FEW resources, can help reduce environmental pressures and promote more balanced development outcomes.