In September 1972, the Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka came to Beijing to normalize relations with China. During the final round of talks, Zhou Enlai wrote out six characters from the Analects and gave them to Tanaka: 言必信，行必果, “Words must be kept, and deeds must be carried through.”
Tanaka answered with six characters of his own: 信为万事之本, “Trust is the root of all things.”