Handshakes portend a prosperous future

There are moments that history will remember, and I've been fortunate to witness some of them during the past few days.

The most impressive clips of memory are three handshakes - one between the newly elected President Xi Jinping and his predecessor Hu Jintao, one between new Premier Li Keqiang and former premier Wen Jiabao and the third between the new leaders Xi and Li.

Though the handshakes lasted for only a few seconds, they signaled the completion of the once-in-a-decade power transfer, and the start of a new era for China - the world's most populous country and second-largest economy.