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Presidential journeys overseas have traditionally been an opportunity to showcase the power of the United States on the world stage. Donald Trump's five-day tour through Asian nations, by contrast, has been a show of the power of the president – but also, at points, of that influence's boundaries.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the opening phase were an exercise in catering to a sometimes volatile US leader. It was an admission that the president, with the flick of a pen, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the ability to damage the financial systems of export-dependent nations.

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

It was a encounter of counterparts on the international scene, where the stakes for the two powers – for their financial health, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their people – were significant.

With the Chinese, the president may use his authority, but those steps involve repercussions. They carry a price.

• The US president describes 'remarkable' encounter with Xi but no trade deal finalized
• Xi and Trump reach temporary truce as Beijing plays longer game

For the first four days, the president's latest venture into international relations was uneventful.

Each destination was punctuated by a blend of traditional trade negotiations – arrangements made under the pressure of the president's "equivalent" tariffs – and individual concessions that at moments verged on the obsequious.

In the Malaysian stop, the president secured access to essential resources and made progress toward concluding commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a agreement that should alleviate frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "truce" the president enjoys to promote.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One passed by a Tokyo Tower lit American colors – with a summit in golden.

Newly elected Leader Takaichi described $550 billion in Japan's financial commitments in the US and offered the president a gift of two hundred fifty cherry trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a sports gear and carrier that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the killed past head who developed ties with the president in his first term.

She also became the latest overseas counterpart to nominate the president for his much-desired peace award.

Not to be outdone, the Korean government welcomed Trump with artillery discharging a traditional greeting and a military band that performed the leader's song and YMCA – the musical group anthem that has turned into a presidential event anthem.

Leader Lee Jae Myung held an "award event" for Trump during which he gave the president his state's highest medal and a replica of an historical royal headpiece.

Midday meal with Lee contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-covered baked goods. Afterward, the South Koreans served Trump fine beverage at an intimate dinner in Trump's honour with half-dozen international heads participating in the regional summit meeting.

In the America, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Authority" protests by Americans who disapprove of his limit-pushing expansions of leader's control, but during his regional swing he was handled as nobility.

And like the monarchs of old, Trump visited Korea seeking payment – in the form of $200 billion in financial transfers, $twenty billion a per year, from South Korea to the America, to be used at the discretion of the president's administration. Agreement on the terms of those payments assisted in that the tariff rate on South Korean goods to the America would drop from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of Trump's Asian tour took place in its final hours, however, as he sat down with Xi.

In that setting, the power dynamic between leaders of the global top two markets was decidedly different than the meetings Trump had with his overseas colleagues in previous days.

Not present were typical ceremony and the pageantry. Lacking armed forces orchestras, absent protocol units, without thoughtfully prepared meal plans celebrating bilateral friendship. By contrast, the pair of counterparts and their key staff positioned themselves across a extended light-colored meeting furniture in a nondescript armed forces facility just off the runway of Busan's international airport.

It was likely a reflection of the significant risks that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in the southern port, he looked