Abstract: Intellectual property (IP) barriers have become one of the most significant non-tariff barriers in international trade today. Do they serve as obstacles to or catalysts for independent innovation by Chinese export firms? Existing research has yet to provide a clear answer to this question. Taking the United States' intellectual property infringement investigations against Chinese export firms (commonly known as Section 337 investigations) as an example, this paper empirically examines the impact of IP trade barriers on the innovation activities of Chinese export firms as well as the potential mechanisms at play, using data from Chinese manufacturing listed companies between 2007 and 2019. The results show that IP trade barriers significantly promote the innovation of Chinese export firms by encouraging firms to increase R&D investment, reduce reliance on external technology imports, and strengthen government R&D support, thereby significantly improving both the quantity and quality of their patents. Firm growth amplifies the positive effects of IP trade barriers on innovation capabilities, but the innovation-enhancing effects are weaker for non-state-owned enterprises than state-owned enterprises, and firms in highly marketized regions exhibit weaker innovation improvements than those in less marketized regions. Moreover, firms’ export dependency, asset specificity, and human capital levels positively moderate the incentivizing effects of IP trade barriers on innovation. The findings of this study not only deepen the understanding of the dynamics of innovation among Chinese export firms, but also provide policy implications for China to address technological suppression from Western countries and to reshape its new competitive advantages in the global market.

Key words: intellectual property trade barriers, enterprise innovation, 337 investigations