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Chicken feet, they may not sound appetizing to some. But to the Chinese, they are a delicacy, especially the ones from the US.
They are bigger, meatier and tastier.
They are also at the center of a trade spat between Beijing and Washington. The Chinese have threatened to cut imports of American chicken meat and auto parts, a move made shortly after the Obama administration slapped a 35% tariff on Chinese made tires sold in the United States. US officials say the government is merely enforcing an existing World Trade Organization rule meant to protect American manufacturers from a flood of cheap imports from China. But the safeguard has never been used until now.
The fear is that the dispute over Chinese tires could escalate tensions between the US and China at a time when nations are trying to come together to solve the world's economic problems.
Economic issues such as trade are at the forefront of the current G20 Summit, a meeting of leaders from 20 of the largest economies.
We have an, still an economic crisis in the world, not just the US and China. But all major and many smaller nations are trying to protect themselves to some degree. And there's always a chance that one or the other could take actions that would anger the others and it would go beyond normal interest.
G20 members have been some of the most protectionists according to a report released earlier this month by an influential think tank backed by the World Bank. It said member economies enacted over 100 blatantly discriminatory measures. Some analysts fear domestic politics will make it tougher for Beijing and Washington to resolve conflicts over items like tires. They fear the tit-for-tat could distract leaders from addressing larger issues, not only on the economy but climate change.
As for the chef in Hong Kong, he serves 40 plates of chicken feet a day. He says cooking wouldn't be the same without the American variety.
It would be a real waste.
Eunice Yoon, cnn, Hong Kong.