wimbledon and US Open finalist Anisimova took just 58 minutes to cruise past her American compatriot 6-1 6-2.
Anisimova has climbed to world number four during a stellar season and showed her class in dismantling French Open champion Gauff.
She lost just five points on her first serve in Beijing and won the first five games of the match in a dominant display.
“I was able to put on a really good performance,” Anisimova said.
“I knew I was going to have to play really well against Coco if I wanted to get the win and I’m really excited to be in the final.”
Gauff’s only prior loss on Beijing’s main court was to Iga Swiatek in 2023, also in the semi-finals.
She was out of sorts throughout, serving five double faults and hitting a slew of shots long and into the net.
Anisimova will play Linda Noskova in Sunday’s final after the Czech saved three match points to beat Jessica Pegula 6-3 1-6 7-6 (8-6)
American Pegula served for the match at 6-5 up in the third set and held three match points on her serve before Noskova responded.
Noskova forced a deciding tie-break and missed two match points of her own before converting on a Pegula error.
