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US presidential trips abroad have typically been an chance to demonstrate the power of the United States on the international platform. Trump's multi-day tour through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a demonstration of the power of the president – but also, at moments, of that influence's constraints.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the course of the first four days were an display in pleasing a occasionally volatile president. It was an admission that the leader, with the flick of a pen, could enact duties and further steps that have the potential to damage the economies of trade-reliant states.

His sit-down with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on the final day, however, was a completely different scenario.

It was a meeting of equals on the world platform, where the consequences for each country – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their populations – were immense.

With Beijing, Trump may wave his pen, but such actions come with consequences. They involve a toll.

• The US president describes 'impressive' talks with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and Trump find temporary truce as Beijing adopts strategic patience

For the opening segment, the president's most recent venture into international relations was smooth sailing.

Each stop was marked by a mix of traditional economic talks – arrangements made under the shadow of the president's "reciprocal" taxes – and special treatment that at moments verged on the obsequious.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured rights to critical minerals and made headway toward concluding commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "truce" the president loves to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One passed by a Tokyo Tower illuminated US flag colors – with a summit in golden.

Freshly appointed Leader Takaichi detailed $half-trillion in Japan's financial commitments in the America and offered the president a offering of two hundred fifty cherry trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a sports gear and bag that belonged to Shinzo Abe, the assassinated former prime minister who connected with the president in his previous administration.

She also became the newest overseas counterpart to suggest Trump for his long-sought peace award.

Keeping pace, the Korean government greeted the president with artillery performing a traditional greeting and a service ensemble that rendered the leader's song and the classic tune – the band anthem that has evolved into a presidential event theme.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he gave the US president his state's premier award and a replica of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with the Korean leader contained a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-encrusted brownies. Afterward, the hosts offered the president fine beverage at an intimate dinner in Trump's honor with multiple international heads attending the APEC summit.

In the America, Trump may be the subject of "Anti-Authority" protests by Americans who reject his authority-expanding increases of executive authority, but during his East Asia swing he was received as nobility.

And like the monarchs of history, Trump visited Korea requesting contribution – in the form of $200bn in monetary contributions, $20 billion a year, from Korea to the United States, to be used at the direction of Trump's administration. Agreement on the conditions of those payments assisted in that the duty level on Korean exports to the America would drop from twenty-five percent to fifteen percent.

The main event of the president's Asia trip occurred in its final hours, however, as he met with the Chinese leader.

At that location, the influence relationship between heads of the planet's biggest economic powers was markedly divergent than the exchanges the president had with his foreign counterparts in prior visits.

Not present were all the pomp and the pageantry. No military bands, no honour guards, missing meticulously designed meal plans celebrating bilateral friendship. Instead, the two leaders and their key staff positioned themselves across a long white discussion surface in a nondescript armed forces facility just near the airstrip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was perhaps a indication of the major consequences that when the president shook hands with Xi in the southern port, he looked