Dear readers,

In light of the friendship and cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz Public Library Branch in Peking University (“Library Branch”) was established as a non-profit organization. Located at the south coast of Weiming Lake, the Library Branch was officially put into operation on March 30, 2018. It is committed to promoting the communication between Chinese and Arab civilizations and cultures, and to strengthening the cultural exchange between the two countries. In late December 2018, I was honored to officially take over the running of the Library Branch as director.

Ever since the regular operation, the Library Branch has been enhancing its basic support functions, accelerating book collection and cataloguing, providing reading room, organizing and hosting various academic and cultural activities. The opening of the Library Branch, on the one hand, enriches the literary resources on Arabic language, literature and culture in Peking University and contributes to the development, academic research and talent cultivation of relevant disciplines. On the other hand, it also builds a bridge for different domestic universities and research institutions to share their resources and conduct academic exchanges in language, culture, teaching and research. This would all help facilitate the communication and mutual learning between China and Saudi Arabia as well as the two civilizations.

Upholding the “user-oriented and service first” concept, the Library Branch will continue to strengthen the building of information resources and provide high-quality services to the users. Meanwhile, it will also commit to further advancing the intellectual exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia and enhancing the academic and cultural communication between the two countries by organizing multiple academic and cultural activities.

On behalf of King Abdulaziz Public Library Branch in Peking University, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all readers and users as well as valuable comments and suggestions!

Qingwen Zheng