aespa, STAYC, and ILLIT Dominate TIMA Awards in Macau, Signaling Easing of China’s Hallyu Restrictions

aespa won three awards at the ‘2025 TIMA’ (TMElive International Music Awards) held on the 22nd at the Macau Galaxy Arena, including International Group of the Year, International Digital Album of the Year, and International Digital EP of the Year. This is a major award show organized by Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest music platform. On stage during the ceremony, aespa performed their hit songs such as ‘Dirty Work’, ‘Whiplash’, and ‘Supernova’. STAYC received the Breakthrough International Group of the Year award and earned praise from local fans through performances of tracks like ‘Fly Up’, ‘Boom Boom Bass’, ‘Get A Guitar’, and ‘Bag Bad Back’. NCT Wish won Rising International Group of the Year and caught the audience’s attention with songs like ‘Surf’ and ‘poppop’. In addition, various K-pop artists including 82Major, STAYC, and ILLIT were also invited to perform. ILLIT performed ‘Magnetic’ and their latest song ‘Bileoyeon Goyangie’ for the local audience. This trend is interpreted as a sign that China’s restrictions on Hallyu content are being relaxed. China had imposed full bans on Hallyu content since 2016 in protest against the deployment of THAAD systems. However, cultural exchanges between the two countries have recently gained momentum. Cooperation is expanding as Tencent has become one of SM Entertainment’s two largest shareholders and HYBE has established a local subsidiary in China. The Chinese authorities’ announcement that they will partially open up the import and distribution of foreign dramas and other content also falls within this context. Especially with President Xi Jinping’s potential visit to South Korea in October, there is keen interest in whether further easing of Hallyu restrictions will be officially announced. Nevertheless, the industry remains cautious due to frequent last-minute cancellations of performances and exhibitions. Past incidents include the cancellation of rock band Seussumi’s concert in Beijing last year, EPEX’s performance this year, and G-Dragon’s exhibition.