This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Portugal, and the 20th anniversary of the return of Macao. The ongoing exhibition is a key event in a series.

An exhibition of the Palace Museum, The Forbidden City and The Maritime Silk Road, was held in Lisbon from last December to this March. President Xi Jinping and his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, visited the exhibition during Xi's state visit to Portugal last year.

The exhibition in Beijing runs through Oct 7. Wang says its history provides for "new chapters" in the Belt and Road Initiative.