The Chinese officials said they had not understood the instructions they were given, but US personnel Online Cigarettes Store USA were unconvinced by their explanation.
The motive for the incursion was not clear, but US officials said they believe the Chinese diplomats were hoping to test the security measures at the base.
The two officials were expelled "this fall," the Times said. Neither country made the incident public, and Beijing apparently did not respond with tit-for-tat expulsions of US diplomats in China.
The State Department did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on the report.
The United States and China remain at odds over a number of issues including industrial espionage, Beijing's presence Newport Cigarettes Shop in the South China Sea, and the situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Weeks after the incident at the Virginia base, the State Department placed restrictions on the activities of Chinese Cheap Newport 100s cigarettes diplomats, in what it said was a response to years-old Chinese regulations limiting the movements of US diplomats.
China instituted similar restrictions on US diplomats in December.
It is not clear if the restrictions were linked to the incident in Virginia.