President Obama met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the White House on Monday, where the two discussed how to coordinate their country's economic agendas leading up to the G-8 and G-20 meetings.

Sarkozy, who heads the presidency of the G-8 and G-20 this year, insisted his country is not trying to dethrone the American dollar as the world's currency,  saying France and the U.S. will work together to come up with ideas for monetary reform. “I know how important a role the U.S. plays in the world, how important the U.S. dollar is as the world’s No. 1 currency,” Sarkozy said through a translator. "And with Barack Obama, we are determined to propose new ideas to get things moving, both within the framework of the G8 and the G20."

In a New Year's eve address, Sarkozy had challenged the dollar's role in the international economy.

According to MarketWatch:

Sarkozy’s drive to reform the global monetary system has the backing of China, a key G-20 member whose the U.S. and others complain is undervalued. President Hu Jintao of China is scheduled to meet Obama in Washington next week.

Without mentioning specific currencies, President Obama said, “There are still too many imbalances in the world economy that are inhibiting the prospects of growth."

Read more from Bloomberg here and from MarketWatch here.