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US presidential trips abroad have historically been an occasion to display the power of the American nation on the global scene. The president's week-long trip through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a demonstration of the power of the leader – but also, at points, of that authority's limitations.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the duration of the opening phase were an display in satisfying a sometimes mercurial president. It was an acknowledgement that the president, with the signature of a pen, could introduce tariffs and further steps that have the ability to harm the markets of export-dependent nations.

His discussion with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, however, was a distinct situation.

It was a encounter of peers on the international scene, where the risks for the two powers – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their populations – were enormous.

With the Chinese, the president may wave his pen, but those steps come with ramifications. They come with a toll.

• Trump hails 'remarkable' encounter with Xi but no pact agreed
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as Beijing plays longer game

For the opening segment, Trump's latest foray into world politics was successful.

Each visit was marked by a combination of standard commercial discussions – agreements made under the shadow of the president's "equivalent" taxes – and personal accommodations that at points verged on the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, the president obtained access to critical minerals and made progress toward concluding commercial deals with ASEAN countries. He also oversaw a agreement that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the US leader prefers to highlight.

In Japan, the president's Marine One flew past a famous structure illuminated American colors – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi detailed $550bn in Japanese investments in the US and offered the president a offering of two hundred fifty sakura trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a golf club and bag that was owned by former Prime Minister Abe, the murdered ex-leader who bonded with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the newest overseas counterpart to propose Trump for his long-sought international honor.

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted the president with artillery firing a honor salute and a military band that played the presidential anthem and the Village People song – the Village People anthem that has turned into a political gathering anthem.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he presented the president his state's top honor and a model of an historical royal headpiece.

Noon repast with the Korean leader contained a "Conciliatory Treat" of gilded brownies. Later that day, the South Koreans served Trump vineyard wine at an intimate dinner in the president's honor with multiple international heads participating in the regional summit conference.

In the US, Trump may be the focus of "Anti-Monarchy" demonstrations by Americans who oppose his limit-pushing extensions of leader's control, but during his East Asia tour he was handled as nobility.

And like the kings of ancient times, Trump arrived in Korea requesting contribution – in the form of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from the host nation to the US, to be invested at the discretion of Trump's administration. Approval on the conditions of those transfers helped ensure that the tariff rate on host nation exports to the US would decrease from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asia trip came in its final hours, though, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the influence relationship between heads of the world's two largest economies was markedly different than the meetings Trump had with his international peers in prior visits.

Missing were the usual pomp and the display. Without any service ensembles, no protocol units, no thoughtfully prepared dining selections celebrating bilateral friendship. Instead, the two leaders and their top aides positioned themselves across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was possibly a demonstration of the high stakes that when Trump made contact with Xi in the southern port, he seemed