ACT election 2020: Coe stands by candidate amid reported links to CCP

But Mr Coe on Friday failed to provide evidence to back up the Liberals' claim that Mr Johnson never held the position, instead relying on the Kurrajong candidate's assurances he was "committed to Canberra".

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said there were "some pretty big questions" surrounding the candidate, as he raised fresh suspicion about a self-funded trip Mr Coe and Mr Johnson took to China last year.

The Canberra Times on Friday reported Mr Johnson, also known as Jiang Jialiang, was in 2014 appointed to the ACT branch of the Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, according to an official Chinese government website.

Mr Johnson's appointment as director was reported on the official website of the organisation's parent body, the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification.

Experts have described the parent body as an organ of the United Front Workers Department, a CCP central committee organisation which exists to advance the party's goals in China and overseas.

China expert professor Clive Hamilton said Mr Johnson's reported connection to the ACT branch suggested he had strong ties to the CCP's overseas influence network and was trusted to operate in Australia in line with Beijing's interests.

It was also revealed on Friday that Mr Johnson's family have been party to a legal dispute in China related to an agreement to run a school.

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The Canberra Liberals said Mr Johnson attended some community events organised by the group in 2014 and 2015, but was never appointed a director.

In a statement the party rejected any suggestion Mr Johnson had a relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Coe faced a series of questions about Mr Johnson and his trip to China during a press conference on Friday afternoon.

The Liberal leader could not produce or point to any evidence to support the claim that Mr Johnson was never appointed to the director's role, as it was reported on the official Chinese government website.

Pressed on what his ongoing support for Mr Johnson was based on, Mr Coe said the candidate had provided him with assurances that he was committed both to Canberra and the Liberals' election campaign.

It was the second time in a week Mr Coe has publicly backed Mr Johnson, after the candidate's credibility was called into question after it was revealed he featured in Chinese state media articles which made false claims about his military service.

Asked on Friday if Mr Johnson's candidacy was untenable given the allegations, Mr Barr said "it was a matter Alistair Coe is going to need to deal with".

"There are pretty big questions being asked here and I think Mr Coe needs to explain what's going on," he said.

The Labor leader also raised fresh questions on Friday about a self-funded trip Mr Coe, Mr Johnson, two other Liberal MLAs and political staffers took to China in 2019.

The delegation held meetings with local government officials in Beijing, Xiamen and Fuzhou - where Mr Johnson was reportedly born - during the trip.

The Liberals said this week that the trip was designed to build personal relationships.

But The Canberra Times has seen correspondence between Mr Coe and Mr Barr's office which showed the Liberal leader intended to use the trip to promote Canberra. In his email, Mr Coe said he wanted to hand out Visit Canberra material to people he met in China.

In his response, Mr Barr's chief of staff Michael Cook said it would not be appropriate for the government to supply the Liberals with official material to distribute.

"This is because the ACT government does not want to create an impression, intentionally or unintentionally, that your private tour is an official ACT government delegation," Mr Cook said in the email.

Mr Cook said the government was not aware of key details about the Liberals' trip, including how the trip was funded and who the group was meeting with, and therefore could not be confident there "would not be potential negative repercussions for the ACT as a result of any aspect of your trip".

Mr Barr said on Friday the Liberals' China trip was "very unusual", as it was the role of governments to lead overseas delegations.

"I was puzzled by it as I know many people were but maybe we're finding out a little bit more about what was going on," he said.

Mr Coe said the trip to China, and an earlier one to India, was taken because the countries were Australia's two largest trading partners and had large expat communities living in Canberra.

He said the Liberals paid for the trip themselves because there was no budget for overseas visits arranged by oppositions.

"Unlike Andrew Barr who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars travelling the world with very few results, we don't spend taxpayer's money," he said.

Mr Coe accused Mr Barr of making "wild assertions" about Mr Johnson and the Liberals' China trip, suggesting the Labor leader had ulterior motives for speaking out on the issue.