Does innovation lead to anti-dumping: a case study of China

In recent years, as China's innovation capacity has continued to improve, the country has also faced more frequent trade frictions. Using China's export data and patent data, we examined whether corporate innovation is the cause of anti-dumping (AD) investigations. This study found that the innovation of Chinese export businesses tends to give rise to AD investigations against China. However, the impact of this is heterogeneous across different types of innovation. Invention patents represent high-tech content and original innovation, and they do not cause more AD investigations. Instead, the main causes of anti-dumping investigations against China are due to utility models and design patents. These innovations have limited technological content but can rapidly enhance the competitiveness of export businesses in a short time, which brings more competitive pressure to the businesses in the countries initiating AD investigations.