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Presidential journeys abroad have typically been an occasion to display the strength of the American nation on the international platform. The president's five-day swing through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a show of the authority of the president – but also, at times, of that authority's limitations.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an exercise in satisfying a sometimes unpredictable president. It was an acknowledgement that Trump, with the signature of a pen, could impose tariffs and further steps that have the potential to damage the economies of trade-reliant states.

His sit-down with China's president Xi on the last day, nevertheless, was a completely different scenario.

It was a encounter of peers on the world platform, where the stakes for the two powers – for their financial health, for their global standing, for the well-being of their populations – were enormous.

With the Chinese, Trump may use his authority, but these moves come with consequences. They come with a cost.

• The US president describes 'impressive' encounter with Xi but no pact reached
• Xi and Trump establish short-term ceasefire as China plays longer game

For the first four days, Trump's most recent foray into global diplomacy was smooth sailing.

Each destination was characterized by a mix of conventional commercial discussions – agreements made under the threat of the president's "reciprocal" duties – and individual concessions that at times bordered on the obsequious.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured access to critical minerals and made advances toward concluding economic agreements with ASEAN countries. He also oversaw a treaty that should ease frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to tout.

In Japan, Trump's official aircraft flew past a Tokyo Tower illuminated red, white and blue – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Freshly appointed Leader Sanai Takaichi outlined $550bn in Japanese investments in the America and offered the American president a offering of a quarter-thousand flowering trees for America's 250th anniversary, and a golf club and case that came from the late leader, the killed former prime minister who bonded with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the newest international head to nominate Trump for his much-desired international honor.

Not to be outdone, the Korean government greeted the president with artillery discharging a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered Hail to the Chief and YMCA – the musical group anthem that has evolved into a political gathering theme.

Head the Korean president held an "award event" for Trump during which he gave the president his nation's top honor and a replica of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Lunch with the Korean leader contained a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Afterward, the Koreans offered Trump vineyard wine at an exclusive gathering in the president's honor with half-dozen world leaders present at the regional summit meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the subject of "Anti-Monarchy" rallies by US citizens who reject his boundary-testing increases of executive authority, but during his regional swing he was handled as royalty.

And like the rulers of ancient times, Trump came to Korea demanding payment – in the form of $two hundred billion in monetary contributions, $twenty billion a year, from Korea to the US, to be allocated at the guidance of the president's administration. Approval on the details of those payments assisted in that the tax percentage on host nation products to the America would fall from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asian tour came in its concluding phase, though, as he met with the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the authority balance between heads of the world's two largest economies was noticeably distinct than the meetings the president had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Absent were all the pageantry and the spectacle. No service ensembles, without ceremonial troops, without thoughtfully prepared menus celebrating shared goodwill. By contrast, the two leaders and their top aides positioned themselves across a long white discussion surface in a plain armed forces facility just near the airstrip of the city of Busan's air transport hub.

It was possibly a demonstration of the high stakes that when the president made contact with Xi in Busan, he appeared