The world is increasingly dependent on China for imports of medical protection products. United Nations trade statistics show that as of May, when recent data were available, the world trade volume of four major items (masks, medical covers, protective suits, protective goggles) used by medical workers to prevent novel coronavirus infections has increased sharply. Due to the expansion of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the need for personal protective products is high. Freight rates have also risen as these protective products has been transported by air. The dependence of global imports on China rose from an average of 59% in January to 83% in May. China accounts for 96% of Japan's imports of medical masks. The increase in reliance on China comes as the country expands exports to meet surging global demand. While major countries are increasing imports from China, they are also restricting exports. The US government continues to impose export restrictions on personal protective equipment such as medical masks from April, while waiving additional tariffs on Chinese-made personal protective equipment to boost imports. All countries are striving for localization and diversification of procurement channels. The United States activated the National Defense Production Act enacted during the Korean War, urgently expanded domestic production, and ordered 3M to increase production of "N95 masks". Even so, it is still difficult to immediately reduce the high dependence on China to zero. State governments do not act in concert, buying cheap Chinese products themselves. Although the United States, Japan and Europe are concerned about relying too much on China for life-related medical supplies and are striving to achieve diversification of domestic production and procurement, the threshold to entry remains high. To avoid the concentration of suppliers in one country and to improve their ability to respond to "wave 2" outbreaks, countries have developed local production and increased stockpiles.