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Presidential journeys internationally have typically been an occasion to showcase the power of the United States on the global scene. Trump's multi-day swing through East Asia, on the other hand, has been a demonstration of the clout of the leader – but also, at moments, of that influence's constraints.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the course of the initial days were an display in satisfying a sometimes volatile US leader. It was an admission that the president, with the signature of a document, could impose duties and additional actions that have the capacity to devastate the markets of trade-reliant states.

His discussion with Chinese leader Xi on Thursday, however, was a distinct situation.

It was a session of equals on the international scene, where the risks for each country – for their economies, for their global standing, for the prosperity of their people – were enormous.

With China, the US leader may flick his authority, but these moves come with ramifications. They come with a toll.

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For the first four days, the president's latest foray into international relations was successful.

Each visit was characterized by a combination of standard economic talks – arrangements made under the shadow of Trump's "equivalent" tariffs – and personal accommodations that at points approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured entry to key materials and made progress toward finalizing trade arrangements with regional partners. He also oversaw a treaty that should reduce frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace deal" the American president enjoys to tout.

In Japan, Trump's Marine One passed by a famous structure displayed US flag colors – with a top in gilded.

Newly elected Head the Japanese leader detailed $550bn in Japanese investments in the United States and presented the American president a present of two hundred fifty cherry trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a sports gear and bag that came from the late leader, the assassinated former prime minister who connected with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to propose the president for his long-sought peace award.

Keeping pace, Korea greeted the president with cannons firing a 21-gun salute and a military band that played the leader's song and the classic tune – the Village People tune that has become a presidential event standard.

Leader the Korean president held an "award event" for the US leader during which he awarded the president his state's highest medal and a model of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with Lee featured a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-encrusted brownies. Subsequently, the hosts served Trump fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's recognition with half-dozen global figures present at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference conference.

In the America, the president may be the target of "Anti-Authority" protests by the public who disapprove of his authority-expanding expansions of executive authority, but during his East Asia visit he was received as royalty.

And like the rulers of history, the president arrived in Korea demanding tribute – in the guise of $two hundred billion in cash payments, $20 billion a annually, from Korea to the America, to be allocated at the discretion of Trump's administration. Consent on the conditions of those payments helped ensure that the tariff rate on South Korean exports to the US would decrease from a quarter to 15%.

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

In that setting, the power dynamic between counterparts of the world's two largest economies was markedly different than the exchanges Trump had with his foreign counterparts in previous days.

Absent were typical pomp and the spectacle. Lacking armed forces orchestras, absent protocol units, missing thoughtfully prepared dining selections celebrating bilateral friendship. Rather, the both heads and their senior advisors positioned themselves across a long white negotiating table in a unremarkable service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of Busan's air transport hub.

It was possibly a demonstration of the significant risks that when the president made contact with Xi in Busan, he seemed