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Presidential journeys overseas have traditionally been an occasion to showcase the power of the US on the world stage. Trump's five-day tour through eastern Asia, by contrast, has been a show of the authority of the leader – but also, at points, of that influence's boundaries.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the opening phase were an exercise in catering to a at times unpredictable American president. It was an admission that Trump, with the signature of a hand, could impose tariffs and other measures that have the capacity to damage the markets of export-dependent nations.

His meeting with Beijing's head Xi on Thursday, nevertheless, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of equals on the international scene, where the stakes for the two powers – for their financial health, for their world reputation, for the welfare of their citizens – were significant.

With China, the president may flick his power, but such actions entail consequences. They involve a cost.

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

Each stop was punctuated by a combination of standard economic talks – agreements made under the threat of Trump's "reciprocal" taxes – and individual concessions that at times bordered on the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured rights to key materials and made progress toward concluding economic agreements with regional partners. He also presided over a treaty that should alleviate territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace deal" the president prefers to tout.

In Japan, the president's official aircraft passed by a Tokyo Tower lit US flag colors – with a top in gilded.

Recently chosen Prime Minister Takaichi outlined $half-trillion in Japanese investments in the United States and offered the US leader a present of two hundred fifty sakura trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a golf equipment and carrier that was owned by former Prime Minister Abe, the assassinated former prime minister who bonded with the president in his initial presidency.

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

Matching the effort, the Korean government greeted the president with cannons discharging a 21-gun salute and a service ensemble that rendered the leader's song and the classic tune – the musical group anthem that has turned into a presidential event theme.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for Trump during which he awarded the president his country's top honor and a model of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Noon repast with the Korean leader contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted chocolate squares. Subsequently, the South Koreans provided Trump fine beverage at an private meal in the president's honor with six global figures attending the APEC summit.

In the US, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Monarchy" rallies by US citizens who oppose his boundary-testing extensions of presidential power, but during his regional swing he was treated like monarchy.

And like the monarchs of history, Trump came to Korea demanding payment – in the form of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from Korea to the United States, to be invested at the guidance of Trump's government. Agreement on the terms of those payments assisted in that the duty level on host nation products to the America would drop from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of Trump's regional visit came in its concluding phase, however, as he met with the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the influence relationship between leaders of the global top two markets was noticeably different than the meetings Trump had with his international peers in prior visits.

Absent were all the ceremony and the pageantry. Lacking service ensembles, absent honour guards, missing carefully crafted menus honoring mutual national affection. By contrast, the both heads and their senior advisors were seated across a large pale discussion surface in a plain armed forces facility just near the airstrip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was likely a reflection of the major consequences that when Trump exchanged greetings with Xi in the Korean city, he looked