此前 (cǐ qián): trước khi cái này

Our company had never cooperated with a foreign enterprise before this, so signing this contract means a lot to everyone.

Regarding this issue, his previous explanation was self-contradictory, so no one really trusts what he says now.

This restaurant previously only served members; it recently opened to ordinary customers, and business has improved a lot all at once.

I didn't know much about the traffic rules here before, so when I first arrived I often took the wrong bus.

Due to the weather, the sports meet originally scheduled for yesterday afternoon has been moved to next week; this is a situation that has never happened before.