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Presidential journeys abroad have historically been an chance to showcase the strength of the United States on the world stage. Donald Trump's five-day swing through Asian nations, by contrast, has been a show of the authority of the leader – but also, at times, of that authority's constraints.

The president's stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the duration of the opening phase were an display in satisfying a at times unpredictable president. It was an admission that Trump, with the signature of a pen, could enact duties and further steps that have the potential to damage the economies of trade-reliant countries.

His discussion with China's president Xi Jinping on Thursday, however, was a completely different scenario.

It was a encounter of peers on the global stage, where the stakes for the two powers – for their markets, for their international prestige, for the well-being of their citizens – were significant.

With Beijing, the president may use his pen, but these moves involve consequences. They come with a price.

• Trump praises 'amazing' talks with Xi but no pact agreed
• Xi and the US leader reach brief pause as China plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's recent venture into global diplomacy was uneventful.

Each stop was characterized by a mix of standard trade negotiations – deals made under the threat of Trump's "mutual" tariffs – and individual concessions that at points approached the subservient.

In Malaysia, Trump gained entry to essential resources and made headway toward finalizing economic agreements with regional partners. He also led a agreement that should ease frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to highlight.

In Japan, Trump's helicopter soared near a famous structure lit red, white and blue – with a top in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Leader the Japanese leader detailed $half-trillion in Japan's financial commitments in the United States and gave the US leader a offering of 250 flowering trees for the United States' 250th anniversary, and a sports gear and case that was owned by the late leader, the murdered past head who bonded with the president in his initial presidency.

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

Keeping pace, Korea received the president with guns discharging a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the presidential anthem and the classic tune – the musical group tune that has evolved into a political gathering standard.

Head the Korean president held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his country's premier award and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Lunch with Lee featured a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted brownies. Subsequently, the Koreans offered Trump fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's honor with six world leaders participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the US, the president may be the subject of "Anti-Monarchy" demonstrations by Americans who oppose his authority-expanding expansions of presidential power, but during his East Asia visit he was handled as royalty.

And like the monarchs of history, the president came to South Korea seeking contribution – in the form of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20 billion a year, from the host nation to the America, to be invested at the direction of Trump's government. Consent on the conditions of those contributions contributed to that the duty level on South Korean exports to the US would fall from a quarter to fifteen percent.

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

In that setting, the influence relationship between heads of the global top two markets was noticeably divergent than the meetings Trump had with his international peers in prior visits.

Missing were the usual ceremony and the spectacle. No military bands, without honour guards, without carefully crafted dining selections marking shared goodwill. Instead, the both heads and their senior advisors positioned themselves across a large pale discussion surface in a plain service structure just off the runway of the southern port's global terminal.

It was likely a indication of the high stakes that when the president exchanged greetings with the Chinese leader in Busan, he looked