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US presidential trips internationally have typically been an occasion to demonstrate the influence of the American nation on the international platform. The president's five-day swing through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a show of the clout of the leader – but also, at points, of that power's boundaries.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an demonstration in pleasing a occasionally mercurial US leader. It was an recognition that the president, with the stroke of a pen, could enact taxes and further steps that have the capacity to devastate the economies of trade-reliant countries.

His sit-down with Chinese leader Xi on the final day, however, was a completely different scenario.

It was a meeting of peers on the international scene, where the consequences for each country – for their markets, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their citizens – were enormous.

With Beijing, Trump may flick his pen, but such actions involve ramifications. They carry a price.

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For the first four days, Trump's recent foray into international relations was smooth sailing.

Each destination was marked by a combination of standard commercial discussions – agreements made under the threat of Trump's "mutual" tariffs – and individual concessions that at times verged on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, the president obtained rights to key materials and made advances toward concluding trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also led a agreement that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace deal" the American president enjoys to tout.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One passed by a famous structure lit red, white and blue – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Recently chosen Prime Minister the Japanese leader outlined $half-trillion in Tokyo's funding in the US and presented the American president a present of two hundred fifty flowering trees for America's 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that belonged to former Prime Minister Abe, the killed ex-leader who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the most recent international head to suggest Trump for his much-desired international honor.

Matching the effort, Korea received the president with cannons discharging a traditional greeting and a service ensemble that played the leader's song and the Village People song – the musical group song that has become a political gathering theme.

Leader Lee held an "honour ceremony" for the US leader during which he presented the American leader his state's top honor and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Midday meal with the Korean leader featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Afterward, the South Koreans served the president fine beverage at an private meal in Trump's honour with six international heads present at the APEC summit.

In the United States, the president may be the target of "Anti-Monarchy" protests by Americans who oppose his boundary-testing increases of leader's control, but during his Asian swing he was received as nobility.

And like the kings of history, Trump arrived in the Korean nation demanding tribute – in the guise of $200bn in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from the host nation to the America, to be allocated at the guidance of the president's government. Approval on the terms of those payments contributed to that the tax percentage on Korean products to the United States would fall from twenty-five percent to under twenty percent.

The main event of Trump's regional visit came in its final hours, however, as he met with Xi.

At that location, the power dynamic between leaders of the global top two markets was noticeably distinct than the meetings the president had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Missing were all the ceremony and the pageantry. Without any armed forces orchestras, absent honour guards, missing thoughtfully prepared dining selections marking mutual national affection. By contrast, the two leaders and their senior advisors sat across a long white meeting furniture in a unremarkable armed forces facility just off the runway of Busan's global terminal.

It was possibly a demonstration of the high stakes that when Trump exchanged greetings with Xi in the Korean city, he seemed