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American leader visits internationally have historically been an chance to showcase the power of the United States on the international platform. Donald Trump's five-day tour through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a show of the power of the leader – but also, at times, of that influence's limitations.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an display in catering to a occasionally mercurial president. It was an recognition that the president, with the flick of a document, could enact duties and additional actions that have the capacity to harm the economies of export-dependent states.

His meeting with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on the final day, nevertheless, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of equals on the global stage, where the consequences for the two powers – for their financial health, for their global standing, for the welfare of their people – were significant.

With the Chinese, Trump may use his power, but these moves come with ramifications. They come with a price.

• The US president hails 'remarkable' encounter with the Chinese leader but no pact reached
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as China adopts strategic patience

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

Each destination was punctuated by a blend of conventional economic talks – deals made under the threat of Trump's "equivalent" duties – and special treatment that at points bordered on the deferential.

In Malaysia, Trump obtained rights to essential resources and made advances toward finalizing trade arrangements with ASEAN countries. He also led a agreement that should ease territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the president prefers to tout.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One soared near a famous structure lit red, white and blue – with a summit in gilded.

Newly elected Head Takaichi described $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the America and offered the president a present of a quarter-thousand cherry trees for America's 250th birthday, and a golf equipment and bag that came from Shinzo Abe, the murdered past head who developed ties with the president in his initial presidency.

She also became the most recent foreign leader to propose the president for his highly-coveted international honor.

Not to be outdone, Korea received the president with guns discharging a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the presidential anthem and YMCA – the band anthem that has turned into a political gathering theme.

Head Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for Trump during which he awarded the president his country's top honor and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with Lee included a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-covered chocolate squares. Subsequently, the Koreans provided the president premium vintage at an private meal in Trump's honour with half-dozen world leaders attending the APEC conference.

In the America, the president may be the subject of "Anti-Authority" protests by Americans who reject his boundary-testing extensions of executive authority, but during his regional visit he was received as nobility.

And like the rulers of history, Trump came to South Korea seeking tribute – in the shape of $200bn in monetary contributions, $20 billion a year, from the host nation to the US, to be invested at the guidance of the president's leadership. Agreement on the details of those contributions helped ensure that the tax percentage on host nation exports to the US would decrease from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asia trip came in its final hours, though, as he met with the Chinese leader.

At that location, the power dynamic between counterparts of the global top two markets was noticeably different than the interactions the president had with his international peers in prior visits.

Missing were all the pageantry and the display. Lacking armed forces orchestras, absent ceremonial troops, without carefully crafted dining selections celebrating shared goodwill. Instead, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors positioned themselves across a long white meeting furniture in a unremarkable service structure just off the runway of the southern port's international airport.

It was perhaps a indication of the significant risks that when Trump shook hands with Xi in the Korean city, he seemed