BEIJING - China's rise lies in talents and education, not gross domestic product (GDP), Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday.

Wen made the remarks during an online chat with Internet users.

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"The whole world is talking about China's rise, and what the people talk about most is (China's) GDP. But I think China's rise lies in talents and education," he said.

He said he attaches greater importance to two other figures: the proportion of education expenditure in GDP and the proportion of scientific research and development expenditure in production.

"That concerns our nation's future," he said.

He also said an important aspect for China's higher-learning education reform is to encourage students' creative spirit and independent thinking, in a bid to foster more high-calibre talents.

More than 6 million students graduate from universities in China every year.