Sydney, Australia – The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will reopen a joint bureau in Beijing in February 2026, six years after closing their on-the-ground presence in China, publisher Nine announced.
The move follows extended discussions with the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in Canberra, according to the company.
Executive Editor Luke McIlveen said the return to Beijing was important for providing comprehensive coverage of China, which plays a central role in regional and global affairs.
“China is obviously the biggest player in our region and a true global superpower – economically, militarily and technologically.
“The bureau will report without fear or favour what makes China such an extraordinary country. Our return to Beijing only strengthens our commitment to having the best foreign correspondents in key global cities.”
Lisa Visentin, who is currently based in Singapore, will take up the Beijing posting from February 2026. She will file stories for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday.
McIlveen said Visentin’s regional experience would be strengthened by being based in China.
“Having spent the past two years reporting on China from the region, Lisa already has a deep understanding of its growing influence in the Asia Pacific, its complexities and what it means for the strategic balance of power, in particular for Australia. Being on the ground in Beijing will only deepen that insight for our readers,” he said.
The Herald and The Age have a long history of reporting from China. Margaret Jones was the first Herald and Age journalist based in the country since World War Two, establishing a bureau in Beijing in 1973. Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam later said that Jones “pioneered the Fairfax office in Beijing. Readers fully understood Australian foreign policy”.
Jones was succeeded in 1975 by another correspondent, who later returned for a second posting in the early 1990s. Other former China correspondents for the mastheads include Philip Wen, John Garnaut, Peter Ellingsen, Mark Baker, Hamish McDonald and Stephen Hutcheon.
Kirsty Needham was the last Herald and Age journalist based full-time in China, serving from 2017 until January 2020. Since then, coverage of North Asia has been led by correspondents including Eryk Bagshaw and Lisa Visentin from bases in Singapore and other locations, with reporting trips into China where possible.
