(NAFB) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke during a recent meeting of the National Chicken Council and discussed the relationship between the U.S. and China.

She says her recent interactions with China were intended to bring down the temperature of a trading relationship that’s become heated in recent months. Tai describes the relationship between the two largest economies in the world as “a pile of dry tinder.” She also says that any potential misunderstanding between the countries is likely to spark a giant fire that could have drastic effects on both nations and the world’s economy.

USNews.com says Tai recently took part in a phone call with the Chinese Vice Premier to talk about China’s failure to live up to the Phase 1 trade agreement with the U.S reached under former President Trump. U.S. officials looked at the phone call as a test of the bilateral relationship between the nations, and Chinese officials used the call to press Tai to eliminate tariffs in place on imported goods from the Asian nation.

“China has a huge market and population, and they all need to be fed,” Tai says. “China needs ag imports, and that is something we can supply.”