Fujian's gross domestic product (GDP) was roughly 3.58 trillion yuan ($526.5 billion) in 2018, up 8.3 percent year-on-year, according to a government work report released Monday.

The growth rate outpaced the figure for 2017, which stood at 8.1 percent, according to Tang Dengjie, governor of Fujian at the second session of the 13th Fujian People's Congress in Fuzhou.

In 2018, the province's general public budget grew by 7.4 percent to 504.5 billion yuan.

Its import and export volume exceeded 760 billion yuan, an increase of over 7 percent. The actual use of foreign capital amounted to 30.53 billion yuan, up 3 percent year-on-year.

The total retail sales of consumer goods in Fujian reached 1.44 trillion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 11.1 percent.

The unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 3.71 percent. Its urban and rural per capita disposable income for the year reached 42,120 yuan and 17,790 respectively, the report said.

In terms of goals for 2019, Fujian aims to ram up innovation and further promote reform and opening-up while realizing a more high-quality, efficient, and sustainable development pattern.

Meanwhile, it will focus on rural vitalization, step up ecological protection and enhance people’s livelihoods.

Fujian has targeted economic growth at a range of 8 percent to 8.5 percent for 2019, and continuously optimizes government efficiency and construction of service-oriented and law-based government.