Beijing and Seoul have long been at loggerheads over U.S. plans to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea. Beijing fears that it is just the start of greater U.S. deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on the Asian mainland. Although a stalwart U.S. ally , South Korea's economy is deeply intertwined with China's. Beijing has used these trade ties to try to bring Seoul in line. On Feb. 8, South Korea's Lotte Group announced that Chinese authorities have forced it to halt construction of a multibillion-dollar theme park in Shenyang, the capital of China's northeastern Liaoning province. The Chinese government cited fire inspections as the cause of the stoppage. This comes just a few days after Lotte decided to shutter three retail outlets near Beijing. Lotte is a massive South Korean chaebol, the powerful business conglomerates that have thrived with heavy government support.