South Korea and China have indefinitely postponed an annual civilian business forum over the issue of THAAD.
 
The Federation of Korean Industries(FKI) announced Friday the fifth roundtable conference among South Korean and Chinese CEOs, which was scheduled to be held in Yencheng, Jiangsu Province, China, next Tuesday has been postponed indefinitely.
 
This year’s forum was to discuss financial and cultural cooperation, ways to develop new growth engines and boost trade between the two countries.
 
However, the postponement was decided as China abruptly proposed to include THAAD in the agenda.
 
The FKI rejected China’s proposal, saying that under the principle of separating politics from economics, it’s better to leave the THAAD issue out. However, China didn't step down, saying the THAAD must be discussed since it could be an obstacle to bilateral economic exchanges.
 
A South Korean official said the cancellation of the business forum signals that THAAD has begun to affect economic matters.