WUHAN - Hubei, an industrial province along China's Yangtze River, on Monday announced its 2019 GDP growth target as 7.5 to 8 percent.

Wang Xiaodong, governor of Hubei, said the province's GDP growth was estimated at 7.8 percent in 2018, which was "higher than the national average and better than expected."

Wang reported the figures while delivering the annual government work report at the opening meeting of the annual session of the Hubei Provincial People's Congress.

Hubei has been using its strategic location at the midstream of Yangtze, the longest and busiest waterway in China, to boost its economy in recent years.