Michael Cavanagh contributed to The Beijing Bureau, drawing on his time as an ABC Radio China correspondent.

Mr Cavanagh is best known on the Mid-North Coast from his former role as a Port Macquarie-based ABC rural reporter.

But wind back the clock to 1997 and 1998 and Mr Cavanagh lived and worked in China.

His uses anecdotes to provide a snapshot of China at that time.

Those anecdotes include Mr Cavanagh's experience covering floods in Wuhan, which about two decades later became known around the world as the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contributors to The Beijing Bureau provide a first-hand account of the events and issues which shaped China and the world.

They share their knowledge of China and stories of life as a correspondent.

Among them are Mike Smith, Stan Grant, Stephen McDonell, Rowan Callick and Richard McGregor, who reported for leading international news outlets including the ABC, The New York Times, the BBC, CNN and more.

The contributors tell of China's rise from the 1970s to the present day and what that rise means for Australia and the world community.

The book is edited by Trevor Watson and Melissa Roberts.

Mr Cavanagh said people wanted to know about the Middle Kingdom, whether it was concern over China's next step or the trade battle and the sanctions.

He said there had always been a mystique about China.

The Beijing Bureau is available at Bookface Port Macquarie.

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