The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Review correspondent Michael Smith were rushed out of the country in September 2020 after Chinese police conducted midnight raids on their homes and sought to question them.

The broadcaster said it had been "eager to return a correspondent to China" and hailed the resumption of its Beijing bureau as a "significant milestone".

Birtles and Smith left China weeks after Australian citizen Cheng Lei, who worked for Chinese state TV, was detained on "national security" grounds amid rapidly deteriorating relations between Canberra and Beijing.

Cheng's release in October 2023 marked the beginning of a gradual improvement in ties.

Relations between Beijing and Canberra had soured due to disputes over trade, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and alleged Chinese political interference in Australia.

ABC journalist Allyson Horn will now be posted to the Chinese capital "in coming weeks," the broadcaster said in an online statement.

The announcement made no mention of Birtles.

The return of the ABC's Beijing bureau follows Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to China in July, when he sought to bolster trade ties even though geopolitical tensions remained high.

"Australia values our relationship with China and will continue to approach it in a calm and consistent manner, guided by our national interest," Albanese said during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi, in turn, hailed the "benefits" of improved ties between China and Australia, saying the relationship had "risen from the setbacks and turned around".