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US presidential trips overseas have traditionally been an chance to demonstrate the influence of the US on the international platform. Trump's multi-day swing through eastern Asia, by contrast, has been a display of the clout of Trump – but also, at points, of that influence's limitations.

Trump's visits in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the opening phase were an demonstration in catering to a sometimes unpredictable American president. It was an admission that the leader, with the flick of a hand, could impose taxes and further steps that have the ability to devastate the financial systems of export-dependent nations.

His discussion with Chinese leader Xi on Thursday, nevertheless, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of peers on the world platform, where the stakes for each country – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the prosperity of their populations – were significant.

With Beijing, the president may wave his pen, but those steps involve consequences. They carry a cost.

• Trump describes 'remarkable' talks with the Chinese leader but no pact finalized
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as Beijing plays longer game

For the initial phase, Trump's most recent venture into world politics was smooth sailing.

Each visit was marked by a mix of conventional commercial discussions – deals made under the threat of the president's "reciprocal" taxes – and special treatment that at points approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump obtained entry to key materials and made progress toward completing commercial deals with regional partners. He also oversaw a agreement that should alleviate frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the president prefers to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, the president's official aircraft passed by a famous structure illuminated American colors – with a summit in golden.

Newly elected Leader Sanai Takaichi outlined $half-trillion in Tokyo's funding in the US and presented the American president a present of a quarter-thousand cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that came from the late leader, the assassinated ex-leader who connected with the president in his first term.

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

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted Trump with guns firing a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the presidential anthem and the Village People song – the band tune that has evolved into a political gathering theme.

Head Lee held an "honour ceremony" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his country's highest medal and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Midday meal with the Korean leader featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted chocolate squares. Subsequently, the Koreans served the president fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honour with half-dozen global figures participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference conference.

In the US, the president may be the target of "Anti-Authority" rallies by the public who oppose his authority-expanding extensions of executive authority, but during his Asian swing he was treated like monarchy.

And like the kings of history, Trump visited South Korea requesting contribution – in the guise of $200bn in monetary contributions, $twenty billion a year, from the host nation to the America, to be allocated at the discretion of the president's administration. Consent on the conditions of those payments contributed to that the tariff rate on South Korean products to the US would drop from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The primary focus of Trump's Asian tour took place in its concluding phase, though, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the power dynamic between heads of the planet's biggest economic powers was decidedly different than the meetings Trump had with his foreign counterparts in prior visits.

Missing were the usual pomp and the display. No service ensembles, absent ceremonial troops, no meticulously designed menus marking bilateral friendship. Instead, the both heads and their key staff sat across a long white negotiating table in a nondescript military building just near the airstrip of the city of Busan's global terminal.

It was likely a reflection of the major consequences that when Trump made contact with Xi in the Korean city, he looked