President Hu Jintao has met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Hu says the Sino-French relationship has made great progress during the past year, adding that both sides should continue to enhance cooperation in the economy, astronomy and new energy, and particularly in nuclear power safety.

The situation in Libya was also discussed. President Hu said China maintains that Libya's sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity should be respected, adding that China always disapproves of the use of force in international relations.

Meanwhile, Sarkozy stated he looks forward to exchanging views with President Hu concerning the international monetary system reforms at the G20 Summit in November.