It was the five-time Grand Slam winner's first appearance since she was beaten by Latvian 16th seed in New York in early September and gets her stop-start return from a 15-month doping ban back on track.
Sharapova, ranked No 104 in the world, is a wildcard in Beijing and she produced a battling performance in Saturday's lively 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) triumph that lasted over three hours.
