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Presidential journeys internationally have traditionally been an opportunity to showcase the power of the United States on the international platform. The president's week-long trip through East Asia, conversely, has been a demonstration of the authority of the president – but also, at times, of that influence's constraints.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the initial days were an exercise in pleasing a sometimes unpredictable American president. It was an admission that the president, with the signature of a document, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the capacity to devastate the financial systems of export-oriented countries.

His sit-down with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on Thursday, though, was a distinct situation.

It was a encounter of peers on the world platform, where the stakes for both nations – for their markets, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their people – were significant.

With China, the president may use his power, but these moves entail repercussions. They involve a price.

• The US president praises 'impressive' encounter with the Chinese leader but no pact reached
• Xi and the US leader find brief pause as China plays longer game

For the opening segment, Trump's latest entry into international relations was successful.

Each stop was characterized by a mix of traditional economic talks – deals made under the shadow of the president's "equivalent" taxes – and individual concessions that at points verged on the deferential.

In Malaysia, the president gained entry to critical minerals and made headway toward concluding trade arrangements with ASEAN countries. He also presided over a agreement that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace deal" the US leader prefers to highlight.

In Japan, the president's official aircraft passed by a Tokyo Tower displayed red, white and blue – with a peak in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Prime Minister the Japanese leader outlined $half-trillion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and offered the American president a gift of a quarter-thousand flowering trees for the United States' 250th birthday, and a golf club and case that was owned by the late leader, the murdered ex-leader who connected with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the newest overseas counterpart to propose the president for his much-desired international honor.

Not to be outdone, the Korean government received Trump with artillery firing a traditional greeting and a service ensemble that played the presidential anthem and YMCA – the Village People tune that has turned into a Trump rally theme.

Leader the Korean president held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he gave the American leader his nation's top honor and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Midday meal with Lee included a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Afterward, the hosts provided the president premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in the president's recognition with multiple world leaders present at the APEC meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the focus of "Anti-Monarchy" rallies by the public who disapprove of his authority-expanding expansions of executive authority, but during his regional swing he was handled as monarchy.

And like the monarchs of old, Trump came to the Korean nation demanding tribute – in the shape of $200 billion in monetary contributions, $twenty billion a year, from South Korea to the United States, to be allocated at the guidance of Trump's government. Agreement on the conditions of those transfers helped ensure that the duty level on Korean products to the United States would fall from twenty-five percent to under twenty percent.

The main event of the president's Asia trip came in its last moments, though, as he met with Xi.

At that location, the power dynamic between leaders of the world's two largest economies was noticeably divergent than the exchanges Trump had with his foreign counterparts in earlier stops.

Not present were the usual pomp and the spectacle. Lacking military bands, absent honour guards, no meticulously designed dining selections celebrating shared goodwill. Instead, the both heads and their key staff positioned themselves across a large pale discussion surface in a nondescript service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was likely a demonstration of the major consequences that when the president shook hands with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he looked