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Presidential journeys overseas have traditionally been an occasion to display the strength of the US on the world stage. Trump's week-long tour through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a show of the clout of the president – but also, at points, of that authority's constraints.

Trump's visits in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the initial days were an display in satisfying a occasionally unpredictable president. It was an recognition that the leader, with the flick of a hand, could introduce tariffs and other measures that have the potential to harm the financial systems of export-oriented nations.

His discussion with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on the last day, though, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of counterparts on the international scene, where the risks for the two powers – for their economies, for their world reputation, for the prosperity of their citizens – were enormous.

With Beijing, the US leader may wave his power, but these moves come with repercussions. They come with a cost.

• The US president praises 'amazing' talks with the Chinese leader but no pact finalized
• The Chinese president and Trump establish short-term ceasefire as Beijing adopts strategic patience

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

Each visit was marked by a mix of conventional economic talks – arrangements made under the shadow of Trump's "mutual" duties – and individual concessions that at times verged on the deferential.

In Malaysia, the president gained entry to critical minerals and made advances toward concluding trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should ease territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "truce" the US leader prefers to tout.

In Japan, the president's helicopter passed by a landmark tower lit American colors – with a peak in Trumpian gold.

Freshly appointed Leader Takaichi described $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the US and gave the American president a offering of a quarter-thousand cherry trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a golf equipment and bag that was owned by Shinzo Abe, the killed ex-leader who bonded with the president in his previous administration.

She also became the newest international head to suggest the president for his long-sought Nobel Peace Prize.

Not to be outdone, South Korea greeted Trump with guns performing a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that performed the leader's song and the Village People song – the musical group anthem that has evolved into a presidential event anthem.

President Lee Jae Myung held an "honour ceremony" for Trump during which he presented the American leader his nation's highest medal and a copy of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Lunch with the Korean leader featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-covered brownies. Afterward, the South Koreans provided the president premium vintage at an private meal in Trump's honor with half-dozen global figures attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference conference.

In the United States, Trump may be the subject of "No Kings" demonstrations by the public who reject his limit-pushing increases of leader's control, but during his East Asia visit he was received as nobility.

And like the kings of history, the president came to Korea requesting payment – in the form of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20 billion a year, from the host nation to the United States, to be invested at the guidance of Trump's government. Consent on the terms of those payments helped ensure that the tariff rate on South Korean products to the United States would drop from twenty-five percent to 15%.

The main event of Trump's Asia trip occurred in its last moments, though, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

There, the power dynamic between leaders of the planet's biggest economic powers was noticeably divergent than the meetings the president had with his foreign counterparts in prior visits.

Absent were typical ceremony and the display. Lacking armed forces orchestras, absent ceremonial troops, missing carefully crafted meal plans honoring shared goodwill. Rather, the pair of counterparts and their senior advisors were seated across a extended light-colored negotiating table in a plain service structure just off the runway of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was perhaps a indication of the major consequences that when Trump exchanged greetings with Xi in Busan, he seemed