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US presidential trips abroad have historically been an chance to showcase the power of the American nation on the world stage. Trump's multi-day trip through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a display of the authority of Trump – but also, at times, of that authority's boundaries.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the first four days were an exercise in catering to a at times volatile US leader. It was an recognition that Trump, with the stroke of a pen, could introduce taxes and additional actions that have the capacity to damage the markets of export-oriented nations.

His discussion with China's president Xi on the final day, nevertheless, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of equals on the world platform, where the consequences for the two powers – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the prosperity of their people – were significant.

With Beijing, the US leader may wave his pen, but those steps involve repercussions. They carry a toll.

• Trump praises 'amazing' encounter with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and Trump establish brief pause as China plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's most recent foray into international relations was uneventful.

Each stop was characterized by a combination of standard commercial discussions – deals made under the pressure of the president's "equivalent" tariffs – and special treatment that at points verged on the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, the president secured rights to key materials and made advances toward completing commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also oversaw a pact that should ease border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "truce" the American president prefers to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's official aircraft flew past a landmark tower illuminated US flag colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Freshly appointed Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi detailed $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the US and offered the US leader a gift of two hundred fifty sakura trees for America's 250th birthday, and a sports gear and carrier that was owned by Shinzo Abe, the killed former prime minister who connected with the president in his initial presidency.

She also became the latest foreign leader to suggest the president for his long-sought peace award.

Keeping pace, South Korea welcomed the president with artillery firing a traditional greeting and a military band that played Hail to the Chief and YMCA – the musical group tune that has evolved into a presidential event anthem.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "award event" for Trump during which he gave the US president his nation's premier award and a replica of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with the Korean leader included a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gilded baked goods. Subsequently, the Koreans provided the president premium vintage at an private meal in Trump's recognition with six international heads participating in the regional summit summit.

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

And like the rulers of old, the president came to Korea seeking tribute – in the form of $200bn in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from the host nation to the US, to be used at the discretion of the president's leadership. Approval on the conditions of those transfers contributed to that the duty level on South Korean exports to the US would decrease from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asia trip took place in its final hours, nevertheless, as he encountered Xi.

At that location, the power dynamic between leaders of the world's two largest economies was markedly different than the interactions the president had with his international peers in prior visits.

Absent were typical ceremony and the pageantry. Lacking armed forces orchestras, without honour guards, missing thoughtfully prepared menus marking shared goodwill. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors sat across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable military building just off the runway of Busan's air transport hub.

It was perhaps a reflection of the major consequences that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he seemed