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US presidential trips overseas have traditionally been an occasion to demonstrate the strength of the American nation on the international platform. The president's five-day tour through Asian nations, by contrast, has been a show of the clout of the president – but also, at times, of that influence's limitations.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the opening phase were an display in catering to a sometimes unpredictable president. It was an admission that Trump, with the flick of a hand, could enact duties and other measures that have the ability to harm the financial systems of export-oriented states.

His meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the final day, however, was something entirely different.

It was a encounter of counterparts on the international scene, where the consequences for the two powers – for their economies, for their world reputation, for the prosperity of their populations – were immense.

With the Chinese, the president may flick his pen, but these moves involve repercussions. They come with a cost.

• Trump describes 'impressive' talks with the Chinese leader but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and Trump find temporary truce as Beijing plays longer game

For the first four days, the president's recent entry into international relations was uneventful.

Each visit was marked by a combination of standard trade negotiations – agreements made under the threat of Trump's "equivalent" tariffs – and individual concessions that at times approached the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president obtained rights to essential resources and made progress toward concluding trade arrangements with ASEAN countries. He also led a agreement that should ease frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "truce" the president enjoys to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's official aircraft flew past a famous structure displayed red, white and blue – with a top in gilded.

Recently chosen Prime Minister Takaichi described $half-trillion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and gave the American president a gift of 250 cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that came from Shinzo Abe, the assassinated past head who developed ties with the president in his initial presidency.

She also became the latest international head to nominate Trump for his much-desired Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, the Korean government greeted the president with guns firing a honor salute and a armed forces orchestra that performed Hail to the Chief and YMCA – the musical group anthem that has evolved into a political gathering theme.

Leader Lee held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he awarded the US president his nation's top honor and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Noon repast with Lee included a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-covered brownies. Subsequently, the South Koreans offered the president premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honor with half-dozen global figures present at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference summit.

In the United States, the president may be the focus of "Anti-Monarchy" protests by Americans who oppose his authority-expanding extensions of presidential power, but during his East Asia swing he was treated like royalty.

And like the monarchs of history, Trump visited the Korean nation seeking tribute – in the shape of $two hundred billion in monetary contributions, $twenty billion a per year, from South Korea to the US, to be used at the discretion of the president's government. Agreement on the details of those payments helped ensure that the tariff rate on Korean products to the United States would fall from a quarter to 15%.

The primary focus of the president's Asia trip occurred in its concluding phase, though, as he met with Xi.

There, the influence relationship between heads of the world's two largest economies was noticeably divergent than the interactions Trump had with his overseas colleagues in prior visits.

Not present were the usual pomp and the pageantry. Lacking service ensembles, without ceremonial troops, missing meticulously designed meal plans honoring bilateral friendship. Instead, the pair of counterparts and their key staff were seated across a large pale discussion surface in a plain armed forces facility just near the airstrip of the southern port's global terminal.

It was likely a reflection of the significant risks that when the president shook hands with the Chinese leader in Busan, he seemed