Abstract:    The study of export upgrading empowered by intellectual property strategies is of great significance for solving the problem of "low-end locking and high-end squeezing" and achieving high-quality development of foreign trade. This paper selected 3024 samples from 252 cities from 2007 to 2018, and used the multi-period DID model to test the impacts of the intellectual property model city (IPMC) policies on export upgrading. The results showed with a series of robustness tests that IPMC policies significantly promote export upgrading. This promotion effect is realized through government S&T support and high-tech cultivation. The promotion effect has long-term impacts. Innovative cities, good legal environment, high level of financial development, and high level of FDI can significantly enhance the effect of IPMC policies on export upgrading. Based on this, optimizing the innovation, legal, financial, and investment environment is beneficial for enhancing government S&T support and the efficiency of high-tech cultivation, and strengthening the export upgrading effect of IPMC policies. The research has enriched the effect evaluation of IPMC policies and the path of export upgrading, and will provide empirical evidence and beneficial enlightenment for promoting the construction of IPMC and high-quality development of foreign trade.

Key words: export upgrading, intellectual property model city, government S&T support, high-tech cultivation