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Presidential journeys internationally have traditionally been an occasion to showcase the power of the United States on the international platform. The president's multi-day tour through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a show of the authority of Trump – but also, at times, of that influence's limitations.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an exercise in satisfying a occasionally volatile US leader. It was an recognition that the leader, with the signature of a hand, could impose taxes and further steps that have the capacity to devastate the economies of trade-reliant nations.

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

It was a meeting of equals on the international scene, where the stakes for the two powers – for their markets, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their citizens – were significant.

With China, Trump may use his power, but such actions involve repercussions. They involve a cost.

• Trump describes 'impressive' meeting with the Chinese leader but no agreement finalized
• The Chinese president and the US leader establish short-term ceasefire as China plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's latest venture into world politics was uneventful.

Each stop was characterized by a combination of traditional trade negotiations – arrangements made under the pressure of Trump's "reciprocal" duties – and personal accommodations that at moments approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, the president obtained access to critical minerals and made advances toward completing trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also led a treaty that should alleviate territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the US leader enjoys to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, the president's official aircraft flew past a Tokyo Tower illuminated red, white and blue – with a top in golden.

Freshly appointed Prime Minister the Japanese leader detailed $550 billion in Tokyo's funding in the America and offered the US leader a gift of 250 sakura trees for the United States' semiquincentennial, and a sports gear and carrier that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the killed former prime minister who connected with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the latest international head to propose Trump for his long-sought peace award.

Not to be outdone, the Korean government received the president with cannons firing a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the leader's song and YMCA – the band anthem that has evolved into a Trump rally standard.

Head Lee held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his country's top honor and a copy of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with the Korean leader included a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted brownies. Afterward, the South Koreans served the president premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's honour with half-dozen international heads participating in the regional summit conference.

In the US, the president may be the focus of "No Kings" demonstrations by Americans who oppose his authority-expanding extensions of executive authority, but during his Asian swing he was treated like monarchy.

And like the monarchs of ancient times, Trump came to the Korean nation seeking payment – in the form of $200bn in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from Korea to the America, to be used at the guidance of the president's administration. Consent on the conditions of those payments assisted in that the duty level on host nation exports to the US would decrease from twenty-five percent to 15%.

The central moment of Trump's regional visit took place in its final hours, nevertheless, as he sat down with Xi.

There, the influence relationship between heads of the world's two largest economies was markedly distinct than the interactions the president had with his international peers in earlier stops.

Missing were all the pomp and the spectacle. No military bands, without ceremonial troops, no thoughtfully prepared dining selections celebrating shared goodwill. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors sat across a large pale discussion surface in a plain service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of the southern port's international airport.

It was perhaps a demonstration of the major consequences that when Trump made contact with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he seemed