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US presidential trips abroad have historically been an occasion to display the power of the US on the world stage. The president's week-long trip through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a show of the clout of the leader – but also, at times, of that authority's constraints.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the first four days were an demonstration in catering to a at times unpredictable American president. It was an acknowledgement that the president, with the stroke of a document, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the capacity to damage the economies of export-dependent countries.

His meeting with Chinese leader Xi on the last day, though, was a completely different scenario.

It was a session of counterparts on the world platform, where the consequences for both nations – for their markets, for their global standing, for the prosperity of their citizens – were enormous.

With China, the president may use his authority, but those steps come with repercussions. They come with a cost.

• Trump praises 'remarkable' encounter with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and Trump establish short-term ceasefire as Beijing adopts strategic patience

For the initial phase, the president's recent entry into world politics was uneventful.

Each stop was characterized by a combination of conventional trade negotiations – deals made under the shadow of Trump's "reciprocal" taxes – and special treatment that at points approached the subservient.

In Malaysia, Trump gained entry to essential resources and made progress toward finalizing economic agreements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the US leader enjoys to promote.

In the Japanese leg, the president's helicopter passed by a Tokyo Tower displayed US flag colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Recently chosen Head Sanai Takaichi described $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the US and offered the president a present of two hundred fifty sakura trees for America's 250th birthday, and a sports gear and carrier that was owned by Shinzo Abe, the killed former prime minister who connected with the president in his previous administration.

She also became the most recent international head to nominate Trump for his much-desired peace award.

Matching the effort, the Korean government received the president with guns firing a 21-gun salute and a service ensemble that performed Hail to the Chief and YMCA – the band song that has evolved into a Trump rally theme.

Head Lee held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his country's premier award and a model of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with the Korean leader featured a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Afterward, the hosts offered Trump fine beverage at an intimate dinner in Trump's honour with six international heads attending the regional summit summit.

In the United States, Trump may be the focus of "Anti-Authority" protests by the public who oppose his boundary-testing expansions of executive authority, but during his Asian tour he was handled as nobility.

And like the kings of old, the president visited South Korea demanding payment – in the guise of $two hundred billion in financial transfers, $20 billion a per year, from the host nation to the US, to be allocated at the direction of the president's government. Consent on the terms of those transfers contributed to that the duty level on host nation goods to the United States would fall from twenty-five percent to under twenty percent.

The main event of Trump's Asian tour occurred in its concluding phase, nevertheless, as he encountered the Chinese leader.

At that location, the authority balance between counterparts of the world's two largest economies was decidedly different than the meetings the president had with his overseas colleagues in prior visits.

Absent were all the pageantry and the display. Without any armed forces orchestras, without protocol units, no thoughtfully prepared meal plans honoring bilateral friendship. Instead, the both heads and their top aides sat across a long white negotiating table in a plain military building just near the airstrip of the southern port's global terminal.

It was perhaps a reflection of the major consequences that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he looked