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Presidential journeys internationally have historically been an opportunity to showcase the influence of the United States on the international platform. Trump's multi-day swing through eastern Asia, by contrast, has been a demonstration of the power of the president – but also, at points, of that power's constraints.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the first four days were an display in satisfying a sometimes mercurial US leader. It was an recognition that the president, with the flick of a document, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the potential to damage the economies of export-dependent nations.

His meeting with Beijing's head Xi on Thursday, however, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of peers on the world platform, where the stakes for both nations – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their people – were significant.

With Beijing, Trump may flick his authority, but those steps entail consequences. They come with a cost.

• Trump describes 'amazing' meeting with Xi but no pact reached
• Xi and the US leader establish brief pause as China plays longer game

For the first four days, Trump's most recent entry into world politics was smooth sailing.

Each stop was marked by a mix of traditional trade negotiations – agreements made under the pressure of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs – and individual concessions that at moments bordered on the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president obtained access to essential resources and made advances toward concluding trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also led a treaty that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace deal" the American president prefers to promote.

In Japan, Trump's Marine One passed by a landmark tower illuminated red, white and blue – with a peak in gilded.

Freshly appointed Head the Japanese leader described $550 billion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and presented the US leader a offering of 250 cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and bag that belonged to Shinzo Abe, the murdered ex-leader who bonded with the president in his initial presidency.

She also became the newest overseas counterpart to suggest Trump for his highly-coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, South Korea received the president with guns firing a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that played the leader's song and the classic tune – the band tune that has evolved into a Trump rally theme.

Leader Lee held an "award event" for the US leader during which he gave the American leader his country's top honor and a replica of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with the Korean leader included a "Conciliatory Treat" of gilded chocolate squares. Subsequently, the Koreans provided the president fine beverage at an private meal in the president's honor with half-dozen global figures present at the APEC summit.

In the America, the president may be the focus of "Anti-Authority" protests by US citizens who disapprove of his authority-expanding increases of presidential power, but during his regional swing he was received as royalty.

And like the kings of ancient times, the president arrived in Korea demanding contribution – in the guise of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $twenty billion a year, from South Korea to the America, to be allocated at the discretion of the president's government. Approval on the details of those payments helped ensure that the duty level on host nation products to the America would decrease from twenty-five percent to fifteen percent.

The central moment of Trump's regional visit took place in its final hours, however, as he encountered Xi.

There, the power dynamic between leaders of the world's two largest economies was decidedly different than the exchanges Trump had with his foreign counterparts in previous days.

Absent were typical ceremony and the pageantry. Lacking service ensembles, without protocol units, no meticulously designed meal plans celebrating mutual national affection. Instead, the two leaders and their top aides were seated across a long white negotiating table in a plain military building just off the runway of Busan's international airport.

It was possibly a indication of the high stakes that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in the southern port, he appeared