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US presidential trips overseas have traditionally been an opportunity to demonstrate the power of the US on the international platform. The president's five-day tour through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a display of the authority of the leader – but also, at moments, of that influence's boundaries.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the initial days were an demonstration in catering to a sometimes volatile US leader. It was an admission that the president, with the stroke of a document, could impose tariffs and additional actions that have the potential to harm the economies of export-dependent nations.

His sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the last day, nevertheless, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of counterparts on the world platform, where the stakes for both nations – for their financial health, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their people – were immense.

With China, Trump may flick his power, but those steps involve consequences. They come with a toll.

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For the opening segment, Trump's recent entry into global diplomacy was uneventful.

Each destination was punctuated by a blend of traditional commercial discussions – deals made under the pressure of Trump's "equivalent" duties – and special treatment that at points bordered on the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president gained rights to essential resources and made progress toward concluding economic agreements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a agreement that should reduce border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "truce" the US leader enjoys to promote.

In Japan, Trump's helicopter soared near a landmark tower illuminated US flag colors – with a peak in golden.

Recently chosen Prime Minister Takaichi detailed $550bn in Tokyo's funding in the America and presented the American president a present of 250 cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a sports gear and bag that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the killed ex-leader who developed ties with the president in his initial presidency.

She also became the most recent foreign leader to propose Trump for his much-desired Nobel Peace Prize.

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted the president with cannons discharging a traditional greeting and a military band that performed the presidential anthem and YMCA – the Village People anthem that has become a presidential event theme.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "award event" for the US leader during which he awarded the US president his country's highest medal and a copy of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Noon repast with the Korean leader featured a "Conciliatory Treat" of gilded chocolate squares. Later that day, the Koreans served the president premium vintage at an intimate dinner in the president's recognition with six global figures present at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the United States, the president may be the subject of "Anti-Monarchy" demonstrations by the public who oppose his limit-pushing increases of executive authority, but during his regional tour he was received as royalty.

And like the kings of history, the president came to South Korea seeking payment – in the shape of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20 billion a annually, from the host nation to the America, to be used at the discretion of the president's administration. Agreement on the terms of those contributions contributed to that the tax percentage on host nation products to the United States would drop from 25% to fifteen percent.

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

There, the influence relationship between heads of the world's two largest economies was decidedly different than the meetings Trump had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Missing were all the pageantry and the spectacle. Lacking military bands, absent honour guards, without meticulously designed meal plans celebrating bilateral friendship. Instead, the pair of counterparts and their key staff were seated across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable military building just adjacent to the landing strip of the city of Busan's global terminal.

It was possibly a demonstration of the high stakes that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he looked