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Presidential journeys overseas have typically been an occasion to demonstrate the power of the United States on the international platform. The president's five-day trip through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a show of the authority of Trump – but also, at times, of that authority's boundaries.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the course of the initial days were an demonstration in pleasing a at times unpredictable president. It was an recognition that Trump, with the flick of a hand, could enact taxes and other measures that have the ability to harm the economies of export-oriented countries.

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

It was a meeting of counterparts on the world platform, where the stakes for each country – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their populations – were immense.

With Beijing, Trump may flick his authority, but such actions entail ramifications. They involve a price.

• The US president praises 'remarkable' encounter with Xi but no pact agreed
• Xi and the US leader establish temporary truce as China pursues extended strategy

For the initial phase, the president's recent entry into world politics was smooth sailing.

Each destination was marked by a blend of traditional commercial discussions – arrangements made under the pressure of the president's "mutual" tariffs – and personal accommodations that at times bordered on the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president obtained access to essential resources and made headway toward completing economic agreements with regional partners. He also oversaw a agreement that should reduce border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace deal" the American president prefers to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's Marine One passed by a Tokyo Tower illuminated American colors – with a top in golden.

Freshly appointed Leader Takaichi described $550bn in Tokyo's funding in the US and presented the American president a gift of 250 sakura trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf equipment and bag that belonged to Shinzo Abe, the assassinated former prime minister who bonded with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the newest international head to nominate the president for his much-desired peace award.

Matching the effort, Korea welcomed Trump with guns firing a 21-gun salute and a military band that played the leader's song and YMCA – the band anthem that has become a political gathering standard.

Head the Korean president held an "award event" for Trump during which he gave the American leader his country's top honor and a copy of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with Lee contained a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-encrusted brownies. Subsequently, the hosts offered the president fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's recognition with multiple world leaders attending the regional summit summit.

In the US, Trump may be the subject of "Anti-Authority" demonstrations by the public who disapprove of his boundary-testing extensions of presidential power, but during his regional visit he was handled as monarchy.

And like the monarchs of old, the president arrived in South Korea demanding contribution – in the shape of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20 billion a year, from Korea to the US, to be invested at the discretion of Trump's administration. Agreement on the details of those transfers assisted in that the duty level on South Korean products to the US would decrease from twenty-five percent to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of the president's regional visit occurred in its last moments, though, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

There, the authority balance between leaders of the world's two largest economies was decidedly distinct than the interactions the president had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Missing were typical ceremony and the spectacle. Lacking armed forces orchestras, without honour guards, without thoughtfully prepared menus marking mutual national affection. Instead, the pair of counterparts and their top aides were seated across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable military building just near the airstrip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was perhaps a indication of the high stakes that when Trump exchanged greetings with the Chinese leader in Busan, he seemed