Hyundai Motor has postponed the launch of its Sonata plug-in hybrid in China and construction on Lotte Group’s $2.6bn Chinese theme park project has been halted as Beijing steps up economic retaliation against South Korean companies over Seoul’s planned deployment of a US-made missile shield.

They are the latest examples of the business fallout from rising tension between the two countries as Beijing objects to Seoul’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence platform, which it fears could be used by the US to spy on its territory. 

Hyundai had planned to launch its first plug-in hybrid model in China this year, but on Wednesday said it would roll out a plug-in hybrid with the latest Sonata model next year. The upgraded Sonata will debut in South Korea later this year.