Highlights
- SM Entertainment and Tencent Music have launched Beijing-based joint venture STE.
- STE will develop Chinese artists and launch a new idol group within two to three years.
- The move comes as K-pop agencies expand China operations amid uncertainty over the Hallyu ban.
SM Entertainment has formed a Beijing-based joint venture (JV) with Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) to expand its business across Chinese-speaking markets. Named STE, the company will develop Chinese artists, support SM acts in the region, and launch a new Chinese idol group within two to three years.
SM Targets Chinese Idol Market With New Venture
The partnership follows an MOU signed by SM and TME in May.
STE will conduct auditions for its new group and handle the artists' management in China after their debut. Zhoumi, a member of Super Junior-M and a director at SM's Chinese subsidiary, has been appointed CEO.
The venture will also support Chinese-speaking activities for NCT Dream's Renjun and WayV members Yangyang and Xiaojun. Zhoumi stated that STE will combine SM's intellectual property (IP) and content production capabilities with TME's knowledge of Chinese-speaking entertainment markets.
Tencent
SM Move Reflects Wider K-Pop China Strategy
SM's expansion follows JYP China's February partnership with TME and CJ ENM to establish Onecead. The venture manages Chinese boy group Modyssey, created through an Mnet Plus competition, and plans to expand into music concerts, production, and merchandise.
The moves come as South Korea's entertainment industry watches for a possible easing of China's unofficial restrictions on Korean cultural content. The restrictions followed South Korea's 2017 THAAD deployment, although Beijing has never formally acknowledged a Hallyu ban.
Hopes for improved cultural ties grew after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed cultural exchanges at the 2025 APEC summit in Gyeongju. Reports also indicated that Jinping responded positively to a proposal for a large K-pop concert in Beijing.
During Lee's January state visit to China, the leaders agreed to expand cultural and content exchanges gradually and in phases. Lee later quoted Xi as saying, "ice 3 meters thick does not melt in a single day." South Korean Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young nevertheless said in February 2026 that tangible progress remained limited.
STE gives SM a local partnership as the industry prepares for greater China engagement without assuming the restrictions have been fully lifted.
