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Presidential journeys abroad have traditionally been an opportunity to display the strength of the United States on the global scene. The president's week-long tour through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a display of the authority of Trump – but also, at points, of that power's limitations.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an demonstration in satisfying a at times mercurial president. It was an admission that the leader, with the stroke of a document, could introduce taxes and additional actions that have the potential to devastate the financial systems of trade-reliant countries.

His discussion with Chinese leader Xi on Thursday, nevertheless, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of peers on the global stage, where the risks for both nations – for their economies, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their populations – were enormous.

With Beijing, Trump may flick his power, but these moves entail consequences. They come with a cost.

• The US president hails 'impressive' talks with the Chinese leader but no trade deal agreed
• Xi and the US leader find temporary truce as Beijing adopts strategic patience

For the initial phase, Trump's most recent entry into international relations was smooth sailing.

Each visit was punctuated by a blend of conventional trade negotiations – agreements made under the pressure of the president's "reciprocal" taxes – and special treatment that at times verged on the deferential.

In Malaysia, Trump obtained entry to key materials and made progress toward finalizing trade arrangements with ASEAN countries. He also led a pact that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to tout.

In Japan, the president's helicopter flew past a Tokyo Tower lit US flag colors – with a summit in golden.

Freshly appointed Leader the Japanese leader outlined $550bn in Tokyo's funding in the United States and offered the president a offering of 250 flowering trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that was owned by the late leader, the assassinated ex-leader who developed ties with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the latest international head to propose the president for his highly-coveted international honor.

Matching the effort, South Korea welcomed 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 presidential event theme.

Leader the Korean president held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the president his state's top honor and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Lunch with Lee featured a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-covered chocolate squares. Subsequently, the hosts served the president premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honor with multiple world leaders participating in the regional summit summit.

In the America, the president may be the focus of "Anti-Monarchy" rallies by Americans who disapprove of his boundary-testing extensions of executive authority, but during his regional visit he was treated like nobility.

And like the rulers of old, the president came to Korea demanding payment – in the guise of $200 billion in cash payments, $20bn a year, from South Korea to the America, to be used at the discretion of Trump's leadership. Agreement on the conditions of those contributions assisted in that the tariff rate on host nation goods to the United States would drop from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The central moment of the president's Asian tour occurred in its last moments, nevertheless, as he sat down with the Chinese leader.

There, the authority balance between heads of the world's two largest economies was markedly distinct than the meetings Trump had with his foreign counterparts in prior visits.

Not present were all the pomp and the pageantry. No military bands, absent protocol units, without meticulously designed menus honoring bilateral friendship. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors sat across a large pale meeting furniture in a nondescript armed forces facility just adjacent to the landing strip of Busan's global terminal.

It was likely a reflection of the major consequences that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in Busan, he seemed