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Presidential journeys internationally have historically been an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the United States on the international platform. Donald Trump's week-long swing through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a display of the clout of Trump – but also, at points, of that authority's boundaries.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the first four days were an display in catering to a sometimes mercurial US leader. It was an admission that Trump, with the signature of a pen, could impose tariffs and other measures that have the capacity to devastate the economies of export-oriented nations.

His meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the final day, however, was something entirely different.

It was a session of counterparts on the global stage, where the consequences for the two powers – for their markets, for their global standing, for the well-being of their citizens – were immense.

With Beijing, the president may wave his authority, but those steps entail ramifications. They carry a cost.

• The US president describes 'impressive' encounter with Xi but no agreement finalized
• The Chinese president and the US leader find brief pause as Beijing pursues extended strategy

For the initial phase, Trump's most recent foray into world politics was successful.

Each stop was punctuated by a combination of standard economic talks – deals made under the shadow of the president's "mutual" duties – and personal accommodations that at times approached the subservient.

In Malaysia, Trump secured access to critical minerals and made progress toward concluding trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also oversaw a pact that should alleviate frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the US leader prefers to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's Marine One flew past a Tokyo Tower displayed US flag colors – with a top in golden.

Freshly appointed Head Takaichi outlined $550bn in Japanese investments in the America and gave the president a offering of two hundred fifty flowering trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf club and case that was owned by Shinzo Abe, the murdered former prime minister who bonded with Trump in his initial presidency.

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

Keeping pace, South Korea greeted the president with cannons discharging a 21-gun salute and a military band that rendered the presidential anthem and YMCA – the Village People tune that has become a Trump rally standard.

Leader Lee Jae Myung held an "honour ceremony" for the US leader during which he presented the US president his state's highest medal and a model of an historical royal headpiece.

Midday meal with Lee contained a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-covered baked goods. Subsequently, the Koreans offered Trump premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's honor with half-dozen global figures attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the America, the president may be the target of "Anti-Authority" rallies by Americans who oppose his authority-expanding expansions of leader's control, but during his Asian visit he was received as nobility.

And like the monarchs of history, Trump came to Korea demanding contribution – in the guise of $200 billion in cash payments, $twenty billion a per year, from South Korea to the America, to be invested at the guidance of the president's government. Agreement on the conditions of those transfers contributed to that the tariff rate on Korean goods to the US would decrease from a quarter to under twenty percent.

The central moment of the president's Asian tour came in its last moments, however, as he met with Xi.

In that setting, the authority balance between leaders of the global top two markets was markedly different than the interactions Trump had with his international peers in earlier stops.

Absent were the usual pageantry and the spectacle. Lacking military bands, no honour guards, no thoughtfully prepared dining selections marking bilateral friendship. By contrast, the both heads and their senior advisors were seated across a extended light-colored discussion surface in a plain service structure just near the airstrip of the southern port's air transport hub.

It was likely a indication of the significant risks that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in the Korean city, he appeared