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American leader visits internationally have historically been an opportunity to showcase the strength of the American nation on the global scene. The president's five-day tour through East Asia, conversely, has been a display of the clout of Trump – but also, at moments, of that authority's limitations.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the course of the initial days were an demonstration in satisfying a sometimes mercurial US leader. It was an acknowledgement that the president, with the signature of a document, could introduce duties and other measures that have the potential to damage the financial systems of export-dependent states.

His meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the last day, though, was a completely different scenario.

It was a session of counterparts on the international scene, where the risks for the two powers – for their economies, for their global standing, for the well-being of their citizens – were immense.

With Beijing, Trump may wave his authority, but such actions come with consequences. They come with a cost.

• Trump praises 'remarkable' encounter with the Chinese leader but no pact finalized
• Xi and Trump find short-term ceasefire as Beijing plays longer game

For the first four days, the president's most recent entry into global diplomacy was successful.

Each destination was punctuated by a mix of standard commercial discussions – arrangements made under the pressure of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs – and special treatment that at times approached the obsequious.

In Malaysia, Trump gained entry to essential resources and made progress toward completing commercial deals with ASEAN countries. He also oversaw a agreement that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to tout.

In the Japanese leg, the president's official aircraft flew past a Tokyo Tower illuminated US flag colors – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Recently chosen Leader Takaichi described $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the US and presented the US leader a gift of 250 flowering trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a sports gear and carrier that was owned by former Prime Minister Abe, the assassinated former prime minister who connected with Trump in his initial presidency.

She also became the most recent foreign leader to suggest Trump for his much-desired international honor.

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted Trump with artillery discharging a honor salute and a military band that performed the leader's song and the Village People song – the musical group tune that has become a presidential event anthem.

Leader the Korean president held an "honour ceremony" for the US leader during which he presented the American leader his nation's highest medal and a replica of an historical royal headpiece.

Lunch with the Korean leader contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gilded baked goods. Afterward, the hosts provided Trump vineyard wine at an intimate dinner in the president's honour with six global figures attending the APEC conference.

In the United States, the president may be the target of "No Kings" demonstrations by the public who disapprove of his boundary-testing increases of leader's control, but during his regional swing he was handled as nobility.

And like the rulers of old, the president visited Korea demanding payment – in the shape of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20bn a year, from the host nation to the America, to be used at the guidance of the president's leadership. Consent on the conditions of those contributions helped ensure that the tariff rate on Korean exports to the America would fall from a quarter to 15%.

The central moment of Trump's Asian tour came in its last moments, however, as he met with Xi.

In that setting, the power dynamic between counterparts of the planet's biggest economic powers was markedly different than the interactions Trump had with his foreign counterparts in previous days.

Missing were typical pomp and the display. Lacking military bands, absent protocol units, no thoughtfully prepared menus celebrating mutual national affection. Rather, the both heads and their key staff sat across a large pale negotiating table in a unremarkable service structure just near the airstrip of the city of Busan's global terminal.

It was likely a demonstration of the major consequences that when Trump made contact with the Chinese leader in Busan, he seemed