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US presidential trips overseas have typically been an chance to display the strength of the United States on the international platform. Trump's week-long tour through eastern Asia, conversely, has been a display of the authority of the president – but also, at moments, of that authority's boundaries.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the initial days were an demonstration in pleasing a occasionally unpredictable American president. It was an admission that the leader, with the signature of a hand, could impose taxes and further steps that have the capacity to harm the economies of export-oriented countries.

His meeting with Chinese leader Xi on the final day, however, was a distinct situation.

It was a meeting of peers on the international scene, where the consequences for each country – for their financial health, for their world reputation, for the welfare of their citizens – were immense.

With the Chinese, Trump may wave his pen, but such actions involve ramifications. They come with a toll.

• The US president describes 'impressive' meeting with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and Trump reach short-term ceasefire as China plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's recent entry into global diplomacy was uneventful.

Each destination was punctuated by a blend of conventional trade negotiations – deals made under the pressure of Trump's "equivalent" taxes – and special treatment that at times verged on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, the president secured entry to critical minerals and made progress toward concluding commercial deals with south-east Asian nations. He also oversaw a treaty that should ease territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the American president enjoys to promote.

In Japan, the president's official aircraft passed by a famous structure lit red, white and blue – with a top in golden.

Recently chosen Head Takaichi detailed $550 billion in Japanese investments in the US and presented the American president a present of a quarter-thousand sakura trees for America's 250th birthday, and a sports gear and case that belonged to Shinzo Abe, the murdered ex-leader who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to suggest Trump for his highly-coveted international honor.

Matching the effort, the Korean government welcomed Trump with artillery firing a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that performed the leader's song and the Village People song – the musical group anthem that has turned into a presidential event standard.

Head Lee held an "honour ceremony" for the US leader during which he gave the president his country's top honor and a model of an historical royal headpiece.

Midday meal with Lee contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-covered brownies. Subsequently, the Koreans served Trump fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's recognition with half-dozen international heads attending the APEC conference.

In the United States, the president may be the subject of "Anti-Monarchy" protests by US citizens who oppose his authority-expanding extensions of presidential power, but during his regional tour he was handled as royalty.

And like the kings of old, Trump visited the Korean nation requesting payment – in the shape of $200 billion in monetary contributions, $20 billion a annually, from Korea to the United States, to be allocated at the direction of the president's administration. Agreement on the details of those payments assisted in that the duty level on host nation goods to the United States would fall from a quarter to fifteen percent.

The main event of the president's regional visit came in its final hours, nevertheless, as he met with the Chinese leader.

There, the authority balance between heads of the planet's biggest economic powers was noticeably divergent than the exchanges Trump had with his international peers in earlier stops.

Missing were typical ceremony and the spectacle. Without any armed forces orchestras, no honour guards, without thoughtfully prepared menus marking bilateral friendship. By contrast, the pair of counterparts and their top aides positioned themselves across a extended light-colored meeting furniture in a unremarkable armed forces facility just near the airstrip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was possibly a reflection of the high stakes that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in Busan, he seemed