On November 5, 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Paris.

Hu pointed out that 2010 was a year of significance for China-France relations. In face of the international situation that is undergoing profound and complex changes, China and France should follow the trend of peace, development and cooperation in the 21st century, continuously forge ahead in a pioneering spirit and enrich strategic connotations to bring more benefits to both peoples and the world at large. He said the two countries should increase the stability of bilateral ties by respecting each other's choice of development route according to its own national situation, respecting each other's rights to maintain cultural diversity and properly handling issues involving each other's core interests. Hu said the two countries should continuously enhance mutual political trust and actively contribute to the strategic, stable and independent nature of bilateral ties. He noted the two sides should jointly play an active and leading role in realizing mutual benefits and common development of major powers in the new situation. He said the two sides should strengthen communication and coordination on major international issues, join hands in opposition to protectionism in all forms, promote recovery of the world economy, work for diversification of development modes and democratization of international relations and push forward the evolution of the international order toward the direction of greater justice and rationality.

The Chinese president pointed out that, in recent years, the two sides had achieved rich results in practical cooperation in various fields, adding that, under the new situation, China and France should respond to the call of the times in cooperation on trade, investment and technology so as to adapt to the changes in levels of each other's development. Hu said the two sides should focus on the huge potential of the Chinese market and broad prospect of China-France cooperation by exploring new forms of cooperation, upgrading and transforming bilateral collaboration and establishing an even closer partnership. Hu said that the two sides should earnestly implement major cooperative projects, actively launch cooperation in areas of new industries, prepare for the first China-France seminar on energy conservation and low carbon emissions and implement eco-park and other showcase projects. He said the two sides should increase mutual investment, create a more convenient and attractive environment for investors from each country and jointly explore investment markets in third countries. Hu expressed the wish that France would proceed from long-term interests of mutually beneficial cooperation to continue to play an active role in promoting practical cooperation between China and the European Union (EU).

Fillon congratulated China on the success of the Shanghai World Expo, saying it fully reflected the prospect of China's development. He said the state visit paid by the Chinese president to France came at a critical moment of the development of France-China and EU-China relations and that the visit was a great honor for the French people. He said France always respected China and was glad to see the unprecedented achievements that China had made in development. China's development was important both for itself and the world, and China's development was not only related to the Chinese people, but also to peoples of other countries, he said. Noting that both China and Europe faced many major challenges, Fillon said France and Europe were ready to carry out all-round cooperation with China to cope with these challenges. Fillon said, as the rotating president of the G20 next year, France was ready to work with China to address the issues of unbalanced growth, global governance and international financial supervision. He said, since the human beings had already made huge progress, they should resolve various problems through establishing partnerships and cooperating. Fillon said France supported all-round cooperation between the EU and China, noting that France was ready to work with China to explore new channels of developing France-China and EU-China relations.

The French prime minister fully agreed with Hu on his propositions for strengthening bilateral practical cooperation. Fillon said France was ready to take a long-term perspective to strengthen cooperation with China in priority areas of energy, environmental protection, sustainable growth, aviation and space. He said France was ready to expand cooperation with China in cultural and people-to-people exchanges to form a long-term partnership between the two sides.

Prior to the meeting, Hu laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

On the noon of the same day, President Hu flew to the southern French city of Nice from Paris to continue his visit.