Feature a friend (5)
I believe the answer is:
china
'friend' is the definition.
(cockney rhyming slang, mate is china plate)
'feature a' is the wordplay.
'feature' becomes 'chin' (facial feature).
'chin'+'a'='CHINA'
(Other definitions for china that I've seen before include "Land" , "High-quality porcelain" , "Ceramic; country" , "Ceramics; friend" , "It's fragile, though its economy is not!" .)