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US presidential trips internationally have historically been an chance to showcase the power of the United States on the world stage. Donald Trump's week-long swing through East Asia, by contrast, has been a show of the clout of the president – but also, at times, of that authority's limitations.

Trump's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the course of the initial days were an demonstration in satisfying a at times volatile US leader. It was an recognition that the president, with the signature of a document, could enact duties and additional actions that have the potential to devastate the markets of export-dependent states.

His discussion with China's president Xi Jinping on the last day, however, was something entirely different.

It was a session of counterparts on the global stage, where the risks for both nations – for their economies, for their international prestige, for the welfare of their populations – were enormous.

With Beijing, Trump may flick his power, but such actions come with ramifications. They come with a price.

• The US president hails 'remarkable' talks with Xi but no pact finalized
• The Chinese president and the US leader find short-term ceasefire as Beijing plays longer game

For the initial phase, the president's latest entry into world politics was smooth sailing.

Each stop was marked by a mix of conventional commercial discussions – agreements made under the pressure of Trump's "mutual" tariffs – and special treatment that at moments bordered on the obsequious.

In Malaysia, Trump gained access to critical minerals and made progress toward concluding trade arrangements with regional partners. He also presided over a pact that should ease frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace deal" the president enjoys to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, the president's Marine One soared near a famous structure lit American colors – with a summit in Trumpian gold.

Recently chosen Prime Minister Takaichi detailed $550bn in Japanese investments in the US and presented the American president a offering of 250 flowering trees for the United States' 250th birthday, and a sports gear and bag that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the murdered ex-leader who developed ties with the president in his initial presidency.

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

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted Trump with cannons discharging a 21-gun salute and a armed forces orchestra that performed the leader's song and YMCA – the band song that has become a presidential event anthem.

Leader Lee Jae Myung held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the American leader his state's top honor and a model of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Noon repast with Lee included a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-encrusted brownies. Later that day, the South Koreans provided Trump fine beverage at an private meal in Trump's recognition with six global figures participating in the APEC conference.

In the United States, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Monarchy" demonstrations by US citizens who reject his limit-pushing expansions of presidential power, but during his East Asia swing he was treated like monarchy.

And like the kings of old, Trump came to Korea seeking contribution – in the guise of $two hundred billion in monetary contributions, $twenty billion a annually, from South Korea to the America, to be used at the guidance of the president's government. Agreement on the details of those transfers assisted in that the duty level on South Korean goods to the US would fall from twenty-five percent to fifteen percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asia trip took place in its final hours, though, as he sat down with the Chinese leader.

There, the power dynamic between counterparts of the world's two largest economies was decidedly different than the meetings Trump had with his international peers in previous days.

Absent were all the ceremony and the spectacle. Without any service ensembles, without honour guards, missing meticulously designed menus celebrating bilateral friendship. Instead, the both heads and their top aides were seated across a extended light-colored meeting furniture in a nondescript armed forces facility just off the runway of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was likely a demonstration of the major consequences that when the president made contact with the Chinese leader in the southern port, he appeared