U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday on the sidelines of G7 summit that he received a phone call from Chinese "top trade people" saying they wanted to restart trade talks. However, according to CNN's report on Wednesday, his aids "privately conceded the phone calls Trump described didn't happen the way he said they did."

"Instead, two officials said Trump was eager to project optimism that might boost markets, and conflated comments from China's vice premier with direct communication from the Chinese," reported CNN.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied claims of the phone call at the press conferences on both Monday and Tuesday. The spokesperson Geng Shuang said he was "not aware of the phone calls over the weekend," and reiterated "I haven't heard of the calls." 

Geng added, China is hopeful that the U.S. will create a conducive atmosphere for high-level talks.

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