Against increasing downward risks in the global economy, international trade frictions show prolonged and complex trends. Exploring the underlying causes of trade frictions and providing effective countermeasures has become crucial for advancing high-level opening-up. Taking overseas anti-dumping actions against China as an example, this paper examines whether institutional distance induces trade frictions through empirical analysis of panel data between China and 60 trading partners from 1996 to 2023. The findings are as follows: increased institutional distance generally reduces the probability of China suffering from anti-dumping. After robustness tests and using the duration of diplomatic relations to establish instrumental variables to address endogeneity problems, the conclusion that institutional distance has inhibitory effects on anti-dumping still holds. The mechanism test reveals that institutional distance between China and importing countries demonstrates a “double-edged sword” effect. While amplifying anti-dumping risks through cognitive discrimination, it mitigates the risks via trade cost and complementarity effects, with the inhibitory effect of the latter exceeding the promoting effect of the former. Therefore, in the context of high-level opening-up, correctly understanding the relationship between institutional distance and trade frictions is vital for building an advanced open economy. It is suggested that the government should calibrate opening-up steps based on domestic needs for economic and social development and strengthen institutional coordination with developed economies to eliminate institutional causes of frequent trade frictions against Chinese products. By actively participating in reshaping domestic and international trade governance rules and expanding institutional opening-up regarding rules and standards, we can avoid institutional frictions in trade and enhance the security and stability in China’s industrial and supply chains. We should strengthen the linkage between domestic reform and opening-up, provide solid guarantees for high-level opening-up, and provide a stronger endogenous driver for high-quality trade development.