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American leader visits overseas have traditionally been an opportunity to demonstrate the power of the US on the international platform. Donald Trump's multi-day trip through Asian nations, conversely, has been a display of the clout of the president – but also, at times, of that power's constraints.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the course of the opening phase were an demonstration in satisfying a at times mercurial president. It was an acknowledgement that the president, with the stroke of a hand, could enact taxes and other measures that have the capacity to devastate the economies of export-oriented countries.

His sit-down with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on Thursday, nevertheless, was a completely different scenario.

It was a meeting of counterparts on the global stage, where the stakes for the two powers – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the well-being of their populations – were immense.

With Beijing, the US leader may use his pen, but such actions come with consequences. They come with a price.

• The US president describes 'amazing' encounter with the Chinese leader but no agreement reached
• The Chinese president and Trump reach temporary truce as Beijing adopts strategic patience

For the opening segment, the president's recent entry into international relations was successful.

Each destination was marked by a combination of traditional commercial discussions – deals made under the pressure of Trump's "mutual" taxes – and individual concessions that at moments bordered on the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, the president obtained entry to essential resources and made progress toward finalizing economic agreements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should ease border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the president prefers to tout.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's Marine One passed by a landmark tower illuminated US flag colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Newly elected Leader Sanai Takaichi outlined $550 billion in Tokyo's funding in the US and gave the American president a offering of 250 sakura trees for America's 250th birthday, and a sports gear and bag that came from the late leader, the murdered former prime minister who bonded with the president in his previous administration.

She also became the latest international head to nominate the president for his much-desired peace award.

Matching the effort, South Korea welcomed the president with cannons firing a honor salute and a military band that played Hail to the Chief and YMCA – the Village People tune that has become a Trump rally standard.

Head Lee held an "award event" for Trump during which he presented the American leader his state's premier award and a replica of an historical royal headpiece.

Noon repast with the Korean leader included a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted baked goods. Subsequently, the hosts served the president fine beverage at an exclusive gathering in the president's honor with six international heads present at the regional summit summit.

In the United States, the president may be the target of "Anti-Monarchy" rallies by US citizens who reject his authority-expanding extensions of executive authority, but during his regional swing he was handled as monarchy.

And like the rulers of ancient times, Trump came to the Korean nation demanding tribute – in the form of $two hundred billion in financial transfers, $20bn a per year, from South Korea to the US, to be invested at the direction of the president's government. Consent on the details of those transfers contributed to that the duty level on Korean exports to the US would decrease from 25% to fifteen percent.

The central moment of the president's regional visit occurred in its last moments, nevertheless, as he met with the Chinese leader.

At that location, the influence relationship between counterparts of the planet's biggest economic powers was noticeably divergent than the exchanges Trump had with his foreign counterparts in earlier stops.

Missing were typical pomp and the spectacle. Without any armed forces orchestras, without ceremonial troops, no thoughtfully prepared menus honoring bilateral friendship. Instead, the both heads and their top aides positioned themselves across a extended light-colored negotiating table in a unremarkable armed forces facility just near the airstrip of Busan's global terminal.

It was perhaps a demonstration of the significant risks that when the president made contact with Xi in the Korean city, he appeared