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US presidential trips overseas have typically been an chance to showcase the power of the US on the world stage. Donald Trump's week-long trip through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a show of the power of the president – but also, at moments, of that power's constraints.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the duration of the first four days were an display in pleasing a sometimes volatile president. It was an recognition that Trump, with the stroke of a hand, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the capacity to devastate the markets of export-oriented countries.

His sit-down with China's president Xi on Thursday, though, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of equals on the world platform, where the consequences for each country – for their markets, for their world reputation, for the welfare of their citizens – were immense.

With Beijing, the president may wave his pen, but those steps entail repercussions. They involve a price.

• The US president hails 'amazing' encounter with Xi but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and the US leader establish short-term ceasefire as Beijing adopts strategic patience

For the first four days, the president's most recent venture into global diplomacy was successful.

Each stop was characterized by a combination of traditional economic talks – arrangements made under the pressure of the president's "equivalent" duties – and individual concessions that at times bordered on the deferential.

In Malaysia, Trump gained access to critical minerals and made headway toward completing commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a agreement that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "truce" the president prefers to promote.

In the Japanese leg, the president's official aircraft flew past a Tokyo Tower displayed American colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Freshly appointed Head the Japanese leader outlined $550 billion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and offered the American president a present of two hundred fifty cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that belonged to Shinzo Abe, the assassinated former prime minister who bonded with Trump in his first term.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to nominate Trump for his highly-coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, the Korean government received Trump with cannons discharging a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that performed the presidential anthem and the classic tune – the band song that has turned into a political gathering anthem.

Leader Lee held an "award event" for the US leader during which he gave the president his state's highest medal and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Midday meal with Lee featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gilded brownies. Subsequently, the South Koreans offered the president fine beverage at an intimate dinner in Trump's honor with half-dozen global figures present at the APEC conference.

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

And like the rulers of ancient times, Trump arrived in the Korean nation seeking payment – in the guise of $200 billion in financial transfers, $twenty billion a annually, from South Korea to the US, to be allocated at the discretion of Trump's government. Agreement on the details of those contributions assisted in that the tax percentage on South Korean exports to the US would decrease from a quarter to 15%.

The central moment of the president's Asian tour occurred in its last moments, though, as he met with the Chinese leader.

At that location, the power dynamic between heads of the global top two markets was noticeably divergent than the interactions Trump had with his overseas colleagues in previous days.

Absent were all the ceremony and the spectacle. No armed forces orchestras, without ceremonial troops, missing carefully crafted dining selections celebrating bilateral friendship. By contrast, the both heads and their senior advisors were seated across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable service structure just off the runway of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was likely a demonstration of the major consequences that when Trump exchanged greetings with the Chinese leader in Busan, he appeared