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US presidential trips abroad have traditionally been an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the US on the global scene. Trump's five-day trip through eastern Asia, by contrast, has been a demonstration of the clout of the president – but also, at points, of that influence's boundaries.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the duration of the first four days were an display in pleasing a occasionally volatile president. It was an recognition that the leader, with the stroke of a hand, could impose tariffs and other measures that have the ability to harm the financial systems of export-dependent states.

His meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the final day, though, was something entirely different.

It was a session of equals on the international scene, where the risks for each country – for their economies, for their global standing, for the welfare of their people – were significant.

With China, the US leader may wave his power, but those steps entail consequences. They come with a cost.

• Trump describes 'remarkable' talks with the Chinese leader but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and the US leader find brief pause as China plays longer game

For the first four days, Trump's recent entry into international relations was successful.

Each visit was marked by a combination of conventional commercial discussions – deals made under the threat of the president's "reciprocal" tariffs – and personal accommodations that at points bordered on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured entry to key materials and made advances toward finalizing economic agreements with regional partners. He also led a pact that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "truce" the American president prefers to highlight.

In Japan, the president's Marine One flew past a famous structure lit US flag colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Prime Minister the Japanese leader detailed $550bn in Tokyo's funding in the US and gave the president a present of two hundred fifty flowering trees for the United States' semiquincentennial, and a golf equipment and bag that was owned by Shinzo Abe, the murdered former prime minister who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the newest foreign leader to nominate Trump for his much-desired international honor.

Matching the effort, the Korean government greeted the president with artillery discharging a 21-gun salute and a military band that performed the leader's song and the classic tune – the Village People song that has turned into a political gathering theme.

President Lee held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he presented the president his nation's highest medal and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with Lee featured a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Afterward, the hosts served the president premium vintage at an intimate dinner in the president's honour with six world leaders attending the regional summit conference.

In the America, the president may be the subject of "Anti-Authority" protests by the public who reject his limit-pushing extensions of executive authority, but during his Asian tour he was handled as monarchy.

And like the kings of old, Trump arrived in Korea seeking contribution – in the guise of $200 billion in cash payments, $20 billion a annually, from Korea to the America, to be invested at the direction of the president's leadership. Consent on the conditions of those contributions assisted in that the duty level on South Korean exports to the America would drop from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The main event of the president's Asia trip came in its final hours, though, as he sat down with Xi.

At that location, the authority balance between heads of the planet's biggest economic powers was noticeably divergent than the meetings Trump had with his foreign counterparts in previous days.

Absent were the usual pomp and the spectacle. No armed forces orchestras, without ceremonial troops, no carefully crafted meal plans celebrating mutual national affection. Instead, the both heads and their senior advisors were seated across a extended light-colored discussion surface in a plain military building just adjacent to the landing strip of Busan's international airport.

It was perhaps a reflection of the high stakes that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in Busan, he seemed