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US presidential trips overseas have typically been an opportunity to showcase the influence of the American nation on the world stage. Trump's multi-day swing through Asian nations, conversely, has been a demonstration of the power of the leader – but also, at times, of that authority's limitations.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the course of the opening phase were an exercise in pleasing a occasionally unpredictable US leader. It was an admission that the president, with the flick of a hand, could introduce tariffs and additional actions that have the ability to damage the financial systems of export-dependent nations.

His sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, nevertheless, was a completely different scenario.

It was a meeting of equals on the international scene, where the consequences for both nations – for their financial health, for their world reputation, for the prosperity of their people – were enormous.

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

• The US president praises 'remarkable' encounter with the Chinese leader but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and the US leader find brief pause as China pursues extended strategy

For the first four days, the president's most recent venture into global diplomacy was successful.

Each stop was marked by a blend of conventional commercial discussions – deals made under the pressure of Trump's "equivalent" taxes – and personal accommodations that at points approached the obsequious.

In Malaysia, Trump obtained entry to critical minerals and made progress toward finalizing economic agreements with ASEAN countries. He also oversaw a agreement that should ease frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to tout.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's helicopter flew past a landmark tower lit US flag colors – with a peak in golden.

Freshly appointed Prime Minister the Japanese leader described $550 billion in Japanese investments in the US and gave the American president a gift of 250 cherry trees for America's 250th birthday, and a golf club and bag that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the assassinated ex-leader who connected with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the most recent foreign leader to propose the president for his much-desired international honor.

Matching the effort, the Korean government received Trump with artillery discharging a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that performed the presidential anthem and the classic tune – the band song that has turned into a Trump rally theme.

Head the Korean president held an "award event" for the US leader during which he awarded the US president his state's highest medal and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Noon repast with Lee contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gilded baked goods. Afterward, the Koreans offered Trump fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honor with multiple international heads participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Authority" demonstrations by the public who disapprove of his limit-pushing increases of presidential power, but during his Asian visit he was handled as nobility.

And like the rulers of old, the president visited the Korean nation demanding payment – in the shape of $200 billion in cash payments, $20 billion a annually, from South Korea to the United States, to be invested at the guidance of Trump's government. Approval on the details of those contributions helped ensure that the tax percentage on host nation goods to the America would fall from twenty-five percent to fifteen percent.

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

At that location, the authority balance between leaders of the world's two largest economies was markedly divergent than the exchanges the president had with his international peers in earlier stops.

Missing were all the pageantry and the display. Without any military bands, absent honour guards, no carefully crafted dining selections honoring shared goodwill. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors positioned themselves across a extended light-colored discussion surface in a plain military building just off the runway of Busan's air transport hub.

It was perhaps a reflection of the high stakes that when the president shook hands with the Chinese leader in Busan, he appeared