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US presidential trips overseas have historically been an opportunity to display the influence of the United States on the global scene. Trump's five-day tour through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a show of the power of Trump – but also, at moments, of that authority's limitations.

The president's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the initial days were an exercise in satisfying a at times volatile president. It was an acknowledgement that the leader, with the stroke of a document, could enact taxes and further steps that have the potential to devastate the economies of trade-reliant nations.

His meeting with China's president Xi on Thursday, nevertheless, was something entirely different.

It was a session of counterparts on the international scene, where the stakes for both nations – for their financial health, for their global standing, for the welfare of their populations – were enormous.

With Beijing, Trump may use his authority, but such actions come with consequences. They carry a price.

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For the opening segment, Trump's latest foray into international relations was smooth sailing.

Each stop was marked by a mix of conventional economic talks – agreements made under the threat of Trump's "mutual" taxes – and personal accommodations that at points verged on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, the president secured entry to key materials and made progress toward finalizing trade arrangements with ASEAN countries. He also presided over a agreement that should reduce frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace deal" the president enjoys to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One passed by a famous structure displayed American colors – with a summit in golden.

Newly elected Prime Minister the Japanese leader detailed $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and presented the US leader a gift of 250 flowering trees for the United States' 250th birthday, and a sports gear and bag that was owned by the late leader, the killed ex-leader who bonded with Trump in his first term.

She also became the latest international head to suggest the president for his much-desired international honor.

Keeping pace, Korea greeted Trump with artillery performing a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the leader's song and the classic tune – the musical group song that has become a presidential event theme.

President Lee held an "award event" for the US leader during which he presented the US president his country's top honor and a replica of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with the Korean leader featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gilded chocolate squares. Afterward, the hosts offered the president fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honour with six international heads participating in the APEC meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the subject of "No Kings" demonstrations by the public who reject his limit-pushing expansions of executive authority, but during his Asian swing he was handled as nobility.

And like the rulers of history, the president arrived in Korea demanding contribution – in the form of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20bn a year, from South Korea to the America, to be invested at the discretion of Trump's government. Agreement on the conditions of those contributions helped ensure that the duty level on host nation products to the US would decrease from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The main event of Trump's Asia trip occurred in its final hours, though, as he sat down with the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the influence relationship between counterparts of the world's two largest economies was decidedly divergent than the interactions the president had with his overseas colleagues in prior visits.

Missing were typical pageantry and the spectacle. No military bands, absent honour guards, without thoughtfully prepared dining selections celebrating bilateral friendship. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors were seated across a large pale negotiating table in a nondescript military building just adjacent to the landing strip of the city of Busan's air transport hub.

It was likely a reflection of the significant risks that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in the Korean city, he appeared