On 1 September, the Fourth China-Arab Library and Information Science Professionals Conference was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in the form of video conference. The conference was supported by Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the National Library of China (NLC), and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, and organized by Zhejiang Library. More than 40 library directors, officials, experts from 11 Arab States and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and 13 Chinese institutions, attended the video conference, including Hala Gad, Director of Information and Documentation Department, the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, Feng Litao, Deputy Director of Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China, Chen Ying, Deputy Director of the NLC, Ye Jing, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Chu Shuqing, Director of Zhejiang Library, and so on.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Feng Litao said that China-Arab Library and Information Science Professionals Conference mechanism was an important achievement of deepening cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides under the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. In particular, in July 2018, the Arab-China Digital Library was officially launched, becoming an important bridge for the communication and development of Arab-China civilizations in the digital age. He hoped that all participants would speak freely, conduct in-depth exchanges and discussions, focus on the common topic of developing library information services under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, further enhance the awareness of cooperation and mutual assistance, and jointly seek cooperation in the field of libraries in the post epidemic era.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Hala Gad said that since the first conference in 2015, on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit, Chinese and Arab experts and scholars in the library and information field had carried out extensive and in-depth cooperation in key areas, such as library document information exchange and sharing, preservation and conservation of precious ancient books and endangered documents, construction and service of digital libraries, professional talent training and so on. A lot of positive and beneficial explorations had been made to promote the common progress of Chinese and Arab library communities and information industry. He hoped that under the framework of the cooperation mechanism already established by both sides, all participants would continue to go on exploration and innovation and jointly promote the new development of librarianship in various countries.

In her speech at the opening ceremony, Chen Ying said that this conference had been planned for nearly a year, both Chinese and Arab sides had worked closely to overcome difficulties and finally ensure that the meeting was held as scheduled in virtual form. Under this background, both sides should actively share the effective experience of library services under the epidemic prevention and control, continue to focus on the construction of the Arab-China Digital Library, jointly deal with the common opportunities and challenges, and make positive efforts to promote the sustainable development and prosperity of librarianship and cultural exchanges in China and Arab region.

The theme of this conference was "Regional Exchange and Cooperation of Libraries under the Normalization of Epidemic Prevention and Control". Around the sub-themes of "Opportunities and Challenges of Online Services of Chinese and Arab Libraries" and "New Characteristics and New Modes of Operation and Management of Chinese and Arab Libraries", the participants actively exchanged views on adjusting the opening policies of the library area under the current conditions, and various measures, experiences and practices to optimize the service capacity of walk-in readers and steadily improve the content of online resources. The conference also focused on how to enrich the resources of the Arab-China Digital Library and improve the service impact of the project, and discussed the goal vision and realization manners of deepening the mutual benefit mechanism between China and Arab in the library and information field.

The conference issued a closing communiqué, and reached a consensus on the following topics, such as "strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Arab libraries under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control", "give full play to the long-term mechanism role of the Joint Committee of the Arab-China Digital Library Project", "continue to encourage Chinese and Arab libraries to exchange books and periodicals related to culture, history and civilization, and improve the donation mechanism", "welcome the Saudi Arabia King Abdul Aziz Public Library to carry out Arabic book cataloguing training courses for relevant Chinese institutions in 2022", "encourage Chinese and Arab libraries to cooperate on compiling the best cases of epidemic prevention and control in the libraries", and so on.

As the important content of the Implementation Plan of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum from 2020 to 2022, which was the achievement of the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, this conference further enhanced the development of the civilizations exchange and mutual learning between China and Arab countries, and reached more consensus on the joint response to COVID-19 in the library and information field of China and Arab countries, which would help both sides continue to develop collective cooperation in the library and information field under the Belt and Road Initiative, and help both sides continue to go on exploration and innovation under the framework of the cooperation mechanism such as the established Arab-China Digital Library Project, and jointly promote the high-quality development of librarianship in various countries.