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Presidential journeys internationally have typically been an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the United States on the world stage. Donald Trump's five-day trip through eastern Asia, by contrast, has been a display of the authority of the president – but also, at points, of that authority's limitations.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the initial days were an exercise in satisfying a at times volatile president. It was an acknowledgement that the leader, with the flick of a hand, could introduce taxes and additional actions that have the ability to devastate the economies of export-oriented states.

His discussion with Beijing's head Xi on the last day, nevertheless, was something entirely different.

It was a encounter of equals on the global stage, where the risks for each country – for their markets, for their world reputation, for the prosperity of their populations – were enormous.

With China, Trump may wave his authority, but such actions come with repercussions. They involve a toll.

• The US president describes 'impressive' meeting with the Chinese leader but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and the US leader establish temporary truce as Beijing adopts strategic patience

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

Each stop was characterized by a blend of standard trade negotiations – agreements made under the threat of the president's "reciprocal" taxes – and special treatment that at times approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, the president gained access to critical minerals and made progress toward concluding trade arrangements with regional partners. He also oversaw a treaty that should alleviate territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the president prefers to tout.

In Japan, the president's Marine One flew past a Tokyo Tower displayed red, white and blue – with a peak in golden.

Newly elected Leader Sanai Takaichi detailed $550 billion in Japan's financial commitments in the US and offered the American president a gift of a quarter-thousand flowering trees for America's 250th anniversary, and a golf club and carrier that came from Shinzo Abe, the killed ex-leader who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to propose Trump for his long-sought Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, South Korea received the president with guns performing a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that played the leader's song and the classic tune – the band tune that has become a Trump rally anthem.

Head the Korean president held an "honour ceremony" for Trump during which he gave the US president his country's top honor and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with the Korean leader contained a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gilded chocolate squares. Subsequently, the hosts served the president fine beverage at an private meal in Trump's recognition with multiple global figures attending the APEC summit.

In the United States, Trump may be the subject of "Anti-Monarchy" protests by the public who reject his authority-expanding expansions of presidential power, but during his Asian tour he was received as nobility.

And like the rulers of history, the president came to Korea demanding tribute – in the guise of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20bn a per year, from South Korea to the US, to be invested at the discretion of Trump's administration. Consent on the details of those payments helped ensure that the duty level on South Korean products to the United States would decrease from 25% to fifteen percent.

The main event of the president's Asian tour occurred in its concluding phase, though, as he encountered Xi.

There, the influence relationship between leaders of the global top two markets was decidedly divergent than the meetings Trump had with his overseas colleagues in previous days.

Absent were the usual ceremony and the display. Lacking armed forces orchestras, no honour guards, without meticulously designed menus marking mutual national affection. By contrast, the two leaders and their top aides positioned themselves across a large pale discussion surface in a unremarkable armed forces facility just off the runway of Busan's global terminal.

It was possibly a indication of the significant risks that when Trump shook hands with Xi in the Korean city, he seemed