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American leader visits overseas have traditionally been an occasion to showcase the strength of the American nation on the global scene. Trump's week-long tour through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a demonstration of the power of Trump – but also, at points, of that authority's boundaries.

The president's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the first four days were an exercise in pleasing a at times unpredictable president. It was an admission that the leader, with the flick of a hand, could enact duties and further steps that have the potential to damage the markets of export-oriented states.

His sit-down with Beijing's head Xi on Thursday, nevertheless, was a completely different scenario.

It was a session of peers on the global stage, where the consequences for the two powers – for their economies, for their global standing, for the welfare of their people – were immense.

With the Chinese, the US leader may wave his authority, but these moves involve repercussions. They carry a cost.

• The US president praises 'impressive' talks with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as China plays longer game

For the initial phase, Trump's recent venture into international relations was uneventful.

Each stop was marked by a combination of traditional economic talks – deals made under the shadow of the president's "mutual" duties – and individual concessions that at moments verged on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump obtained rights to key materials and made headway toward finalizing commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should reduce border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "truce" the president enjoys to highlight.

In Japan, Trump's official aircraft passed by a famous structure lit US flag colors – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Leader Sanai Takaichi outlined $half-trillion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and gave the president a present of two hundred fifty sakura trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a sports gear and case that came from the late leader, the killed former prime minister who bonded with Trump in his initial presidency.

She also became the latest foreign leader to propose the president for his long-sought Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, Korea received Trump with cannons performing a honor salute and a military band that performed the presidential anthem and the classic tune – the band song that has turned into a Trump rally theme.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his state's top honor and a copy of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Midday meal with Lee included a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Subsequently, the Koreans provided the president premium vintage at an private meal in the president's honor with half-dozen world leaders attending the APEC meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the focus of "No Kings" rallies by the public who oppose his limit-pushing extensions of executive authority, but during his regional swing he was handled as monarchy.

And like the rulers of history, Trump came to Korea seeking payment – in the guise of $200 billion in cash payments, $20bn a year, from Korea to the United States, to be invested at the direction of Trump's government. Approval on the conditions of those contributions contributed to that the tax percentage on South Korean exports to the United States would decrease from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The primary focus of Trump's regional visit came in its final hours, however, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

There, the authority balance between heads of the world's two largest economies was noticeably distinct than the interactions the president had with his overseas colleagues in prior visits.

Missing were all the pageantry and the display. Lacking armed forces orchestras, no honour guards, without carefully crafted menus honoring bilateral friendship. By contrast, the two leaders and their key staff positioned themselves across a large pale discussion surface in a plain service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was possibly a indication of the major consequences that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in the Korean city, he seemed