BYD (比亚迪) claimed the title of World’s Best-Selling EV maker in    1     hard-fought battle with Tesla.

Both companies    2     (beat) analysts’ estimates for the numbers of EVs that they sold in the final three months of last year, and both benefited from cutting prices on their vehicles    3     a bid to grab market share. BYD sold a little over 3 million vehicles last year—     4     (most) in China. Tesla sold 1.8 million vehicles,    5     (fall) just short of CEO Elon Musk’s target of 2 million, but still beating analysts’ estimates. Tesla delivered 484,507 pure EVs between October and December,     6     BYD sold 526,409.

How did BYD overtake Tesla before the year-end finish line? Partly it is the price war which     7     (go) on in the EV sector—particularly here in China—for the last 12 months. Tesla started it last January by slashing prices on several     8     (model) and every other automaker followed suit. But it quickly became obvious that Tesla wasn’t going to win that price war.

While BYD has high-end types of its own, it also has cheaper ones. A cheaper car, which requires a smaller loan from the bank, can look a lot     9     (attract). And some analysts have said that tax credits in the US may have pushed some Tesla-buyers     10     (get) their cars in 2023 instead of 2024.

Born in 1946 in New York, Claudia Goldin, professor at Harvard University,     1     (award) the Nobel Prize in economics for her work on women in the labor market in October, 2023. She found that women generally receive a     2     (low) pay than men. She looked at over 200 years of US data,     3     showed that much of the gender pay gap could     4     (historic) be explained by differences in education and jobs.

Female participation in the labor market follows     5     U-shaped form over the whole period, and the participation of     6     (marry) women decreased when society changed from farming to industry in the early 19th century, but then started to increase with the     7     (grow) of the service industry in the early 20th century, her research has shown.

“It is obvious that understanding women’s role in the labor market is important for society. Thanks to Goldin’s research, we are now equipped     8     a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to the gender pay gap     9     which challenges may need     10     (address) in the future,” Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said in a statement.

BEIJING — The 2024 Spring Festival box office (票房) in China, within the holiday’s first three     1    (day), has achieved 3.5 billion yuan ($492.7million), which marks a     2     (strike) increase of nearly 17 percent compared to last year.

Running from Feb.10 to Feb. 17 this year, the Spring Festival period traditionally serves as a profitable period for movie ticket sales. The extended holiday contributes     3     drawing more movie-goers to cinemas,     4     (ensure) a successful start to the Chinese film market in 2024.

On Feb.10, eight films were put on, eager     5     (draw) audience attention. Among them, the domestic comedy-drama YOLO, directed by and starring famous comedian Jia Ling, has appeared as the highest-grossing title so far, adding over 1.3 billion yuan to     6     (it) profit account until Tuesday morning, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.

This success narrowly beat the comedy Pegasus 2     7     earned nearly 1.2 billion yuan in the first period of release.     8     (write) and directed by writer-turned-director and racing driver Han Han, the film serves as a sequel (续篇) to his 2019 Spring Festival holiday hit Pegasus.

During the Spring Festival, the animation Boonie Bears: Time Twist     9     (enjoy) great popularity, winning the third place in the Spring Festival box office rankings and bringing     10     large amount of box office profit.

The EU, US and their allies have agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift. The possessions of Russia’s     1     (center) bank will also be frozen, limiting Russia’s ability     2     (access) its overseas reserves.

“This     3     (intend) to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will     4     (massive) restrict their global operations,”     5     German government spokesman said. Russia is heavily reliant     6     the Swift system for its oil and gas exports. The joint sanctions (制裁) are the severest measures imposed to date on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.     7     the move could also harm Western businesses doing business with Russia.

Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a secure messaging system     8     makes fast, cross-border payments possible, enabling international trade.     9     (base) in Belgium, it facilitates transactions (交易) between more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions across the globe     10     (economic), but has no authority to make sanction decision itself.

Removing banks from Swift is considered to be a severe measure because almost all banks use the system.

As the Year of the Dragon approached, sales of products with dragon elements have seen explosive     1     (grow) on major e-commerce platforms. Dragon, or long in Chinese,     2     (consider) as an important symbol of Chinese traditional culture, is believed to bring good luck and fortune.

Since January, products with dragon-themed elements, such as clothing, daily necessities and gold jewelry     3     (gain) popularity. Items such as red envelopes, mobile phone cases designed for the Chinese Year of the Dragon have also been favored by consumers, and    4     (they) sales have surpassed those in the Year of the Rabbit last year.

Chinese consumers who buy dragon-themed goods are hoping     5     (live) a better life in the new year and displaying a strong sense     6     national pride and confidence in Chinese culture. The rich cultural meanings and the good wishes     7     the dragon carries have not only stimulated people’s passion for buying, but also satisfied their rising demand for personalized and     8     (create) products with unique cultural symbols.

Spring Festival is the traditional festival Chinese people attach the most importance to, and it’s also     9     peak season for consumption. The shopping craze for dragon-related products ahead of Lunar New Year is essential for     10     (promote) the recovery of the consumer market.

China’s Changan     1    (sign) a deal last week with the Thai authorities to build a vehicle-producing plant in the Southeast Asian country, as     2     state-owned carmaker speeds up efforts to explore overseas markets,     3    (especial) those involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Chongqing-based carmaker said it will invest 8.8 billion baht (around $240 million) in the production facility, initially     4    (design) to produce 100,000 new energy vehicles a year.

The NEVs to be produced in its Thai plant     5     (sell) in the country and exported to other     6     (market) such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Changan is joining the ranks of other major Chinese carmakers including SAIC, Great Wall Motor as well as BYD,     7    have release d plant plans or are already producing vehicles     8     Southeast Asia.

Their local production can boost the local automotive industry and will allow those Chinese carmakers     9    (become) more competitive in the market, said Yahaya Ahmad, technical leader of the ASEAN New Car Assessment Program.

Ahmad said the     10     (popular) of Chinese branded vehicles is growing thanks to their improved quality.

“I would expect Chinese carmakers to be competitive…they can compete in terms of the safety, in terms of the cost, in terms of the quality,” he said.

Yiwu’s market bounces back after three difficult years

Orders from all over the world     1     (flood) into Yiwu factories since earlier this month, a snapshot of global trade in the post-pandemic era     2     indicates a strong recovery for foreign trade in Zhejiang province in early 2023.

Statistics show that on Feb 2, 75,000 merchants     3     (participate) in the opening ceremony at Yiwu International Trade City — the world’s largest     4     (distribute) center for small commodities — placing orders on-site after almost three years of being unable to do so     5     person since the COVID-19 epidemic began.

Lu Qingrong, manager of the Jingrong Toy Company, said that orders have already been scheduled for May and June,     6     that this year’s sales are expected to be 30 percent     7     (high) than the previous two years.

For the past three years, Yiwu’s manufacturing companies     8     (devote) more energy to innovation and quality as they have upgraded, in a bid to underpin steady and accelerated growth.

Lu added that Jingrong will focus on strengthening innovation and research     9     (satisfy) increasing demands and plans to launch at least 10 new products every week.

In addition, the company is currently adding more production lines, which will raise     10     (efficient) and is expected to increase production by 50 percent.