Cheng Lei, 48, was working as a business reporter for China’s state-run English language TV station CGTN when she was arrested on 13 August 2020.

On Wednesday, following Ms Cheng’s release, Mr Albanese said it would facilitate his trip to China at a “mutually agreed time” this year.

The government has been seeking this for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians," Mr Albanese said, adding that he spoke to Ms Cheng over the phone earlier on Wednesday.

“I would like to emphasise that the the Judicial Department heard the relevant cases and handed down their sentences in accordance with the law,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, adding that Ms Cheng’s rights to receive regular consular visits had also been respected.

In August, she spoke publicly for the first time about her imprisonment in an open letter to the people of Australia, which had been dictated to a group of diplomats who were able to speak with her each month.

They were released hours after the US extradition request against Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was dropped, although Beijing denied any connection between the two matters.

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