This school visit can be called a finishing touch to my U.S. visit," Xi said.

My comments:

Also called a finishing stroke. As a painter finishes a piece of work, he usually makes light, small additions and other changes to the picture. These delicate strokes are called finishing touches, touch signifying the lightness of the strokes.

In the above example, the school visit as a finishing touch suggests that it was a more relaxed, light-hearted and less rigid affair – an easy ending to Xi’s US visit, which had been understandably full of strenuous talks and other heavy-duty schedules.

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Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.