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American leader visits internationally have historically been an chance to demonstrate the influence of the US on the international platform. The president's five-day trip through Asian nations, conversely, has been a show of the authority of Trump – but also, at moments, of that power's boundaries.

The president's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the duration of the opening phase were an demonstration in satisfying a at times mercurial US leader. It was an recognition that Trump, with the flick of a hand, could impose taxes and further steps that have the capacity to devastate the markets of trade-reliant states.

His discussion with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, though, was something entirely different.

It was a session of peers on the global stage, where the risks for the two powers – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the prosperity of their people – were immense.

With Beijing, Trump may wave his power, but those steps come with ramifications. They carry a toll.

• Trump hails 'remarkable' meeting with the Chinese leader but no pact finalized
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as Beijing plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's latest venture into world politics was successful.

Each stop was punctuated by a blend of standard trade negotiations – arrangements made under the shadow of the president's "mutual" duties – and personal accommodations that at times verged on the subservient.

In the Malaysian stop, the president obtained rights to critical minerals and made advances toward finalizing economic agreements with regional partners. He also oversaw a pact that should alleviate frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "truce" the president enjoys to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's Marine One flew past a landmark tower illuminated US flag colors – with a summit in gilded.

Recently chosen Leader the Japanese leader detailed $550 billion in Tokyo's funding in the United States and offered the US leader a offering of 250 cherry trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a golf equipment and carrier that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the murdered past head who connected with Trump in his initial presidency.

She also became the newest international head to suggest Trump for his much-desired Nobel Peace Prize.

Matching the effort, the Korean government welcomed the president with guns performing a traditional greeting and a service ensemble that rendered the leader's song and the Village People song – the Village People song that has turned into a Trump rally theme.

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

Lunch with the Korean leader featured a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted chocolate squares. Afterward, the South Koreans served Trump vineyard wine at an intimate dinner in Trump's honour with half-dozen world leaders attending the regional summit meeting.

In the US, the president may be the target of "Anti-Authority" protests by US citizens who disapprove of his authority-expanding extensions of leader's control, but during his Asian tour he was treated like nobility.

And like the kings of old, the president came to the Korean nation demanding payment – in the form of $200bn in financial transfers, $twenty billion a per year, from South Korea to the America, to be invested at the guidance of Trump's administration. Agreement on the conditions of those contributions helped ensure that the duty level on Korean products to the America would drop from twenty-five percent to 15%.

The main event of Trump's regional visit took place in its last moments, however, as he met with the Chinese leader.

In that setting, the power dynamic between heads of the planet's biggest economic powers was markedly different than the meetings Trump had with his international peers in previous days.

Missing were typical pageantry and the display. Without any military bands, no protocol units, no carefully crafted dining selections celebrating mutual national affection. Rather, the both heads and their senior advisors were seated across a extended light-colored discussion surface in a unremarkable military building just adjacent to the landing strip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was possibly a demonstration of the significant risks that when Trump exchanged greetings with Xi in the Korean city, he seemed