In the context of the escalating Sino-US trade friction, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of import competition from the United States on the innovation of Chinese enterprises based on highly detailed micro-data of enterprises. The findings are as follows:(1) On the whole, the import competition from the United States has optimized the application structure of patents of enterprises, which has a significant promoting effect on the number of the applications of invention patents of enterprises, but has no significant influence on the number of the applications of utility model patents and design patents of enterprises.(2) Import competition from the United States has a significant promoting effect on the total innovation output of domestic enterprises and enterprises with low financing constraints. The increase in the total innovation output is caused by the significant enhancement of high-quality innovation (invention patents) and low-quality innovation (utility model patents, design patents). The decline in the total innovation output of foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises with high financing constraints is caused by the significant decline in low-quality innovation and the insignificant change in high-quality innovation. The promoting effect of high-quality innovation on enterprises with low productivity is greater than that on enterprises with high productivity.(3) Import competition from the United States has increased the risk of enterprises exiting the market, in order to cope with the impact of the imports from the United States, Chinese enterprises actively respond to this. They increase R&D investment spending, optimize the employment structure, expand the employment scale, accelerate high-quality innovation, thus producing the "escape from competition effect".
