U.S. exports to China jumped in April 2020, following the Chinese government's reopening of China's economy after having closed it for weeks to arrest the outbreak of what has become the global SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, with its exposure to the global coronavirus pandemic lagging months behind China's, much of the U.S. economy was locked down by state and local government officials beginning in March 2020, triggering a national recession. The lockdowns sharply reduced economic activity throughout April 2020, including reducing imports from China.
Both these factors have shown up in trade data tracked