Joint meetings of the Australian Parliament of the House of Representatives on 26 March 1942, and addressed members of Parliament from outside the chamber later that day. The first address by an invited guest to the Parliament in a formally convened joint sitting of which there was an official record was on 2 January 1992, by the US President, George H. W. Bush. Later addresses to joint sittings were from US presidents Bill Clinton (1996) and George W. Bush (2003); and President of China Hu Jintao (2003). (George W. Bush's and Hu Jintao's addresses occurred on consecutive days in October 2003.) Subsequently, the Senate Standing Committee
Hu Jintao counterpart Ma Ying-jeou agreed that the 1992 Consensus is the basis for negotiations between the two sides of the Taiwan strait. On 26 March 2008, Hu Jintao held a telephone talk with then US President George W. Bush, in which he became the first Chinese leader to officially recognize the 1992 Consensus. After several months of negotiations, in December 2008, the two sides agreed on the resumption of the Three Links, i.e., a re-opening of mail, trade, and direct air links between the two sides. Relations have been cordial since between the two sides, and trade increased immensely, culminating in