The US President's Asia Trip Involves Agreements, Deference and a Revealing Final Meeting

American leader visits internationally have traditionally been an chance to showcase the power of the United States on the international platform. Trump's multi-day tour through Asian nations, conversely, has been a demonstration of the clout of the leader – but also, at times, of that power's boundaries.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the first four days were an exercise in pleasing a occasionally unpredictable American president. It was an recognition that the leader, with the flick of a pen, could impose taxes and other measures that have the capacity to harm the economies of export-oriented countries.

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

It was a meeting of counterparts on the global stage, where the consequences for each country – for their financial health, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their populations – were immense.

With the Chinese, the president may wave his power, but those steps entail repercussions. They carry a toll.

• The US president hails 'impressive' talks with Xi but no pact finalized
• Xi and the US leader establish brief pause as Beijing plays longer game

For the opening segment, Trump's most recent entry into global diplomacy was uneventful.

Each visit was characterized by a blend of conventional trade negotiations – deals made under the pressure of the president's "mutual" duties – and individual concessions that at moments approached the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president secured entry to essential resources and made advances toward completing economic agreements with south-east Asian nations. He also oversaw a agreement that should alleviate frontier issues between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "peace agreement" the US leader prefers to highlight.

In the Japanese leg, Trump's helicopter flew past a Tokyo Tower lit red, white and blue – with a summit in golden.

Freshly appointed Leader Sanai Takaichi described $half-trillion in Japanese investments in the US and gave the president a present of 250 flowering trees for America's 250th birthday, and a sports gear and carrier that came from former Prime Minister Abe, the killed former prime minister who bonded with the president in his previous administration.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to propose the president for his much-desired international honor.

Not to be outdone, South Korea welcomed the president with cannons firing a 21-gun salute and a military band that performed Hail to the Chief and the classic tune – the Village People anthem that has turned into a presidential event standard.

Leader Lee Jae Myung held an "award event" for Trump during which he awarded the US president his country's top honor and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

Midday meal with the Korean leader contained a "Diplomat's Sweet" of gold-covered baked goods. Subsequently, the South Koreans provided the president premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in the president's recognition with multiple world leaders attending the APEC conference.

In the US, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Authority" protests by the public who oppose his boundary-testing expansions of presidential power, but during his Asian swing he was handled as nobility.

And like the rulers of history, Trump arrived in Korea requesting contribution – in the form of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20bn a per year, from the host nation to the US, to be used at the direction of Trump's administration. Consent on the terms of those transfers contributed to that the tax percentage on host nation goods to the America would fall from 25% to fifteen percent.

The central moment of Trump's regional visit took place in its last moments, however, as he encountered Xi.

In that setting, the authority balance between counterparts of the global top two markets was markedly different than the interactions Trump had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Missing were typical pomp and the pageantry. No armed forces orchestras, without ceremonial troops, no thoughtfully prepared dining selections celebrating bilateral friendship. Instead, the both heads and their senior advisors positioned themselves across a large pale meeting furniture in a unremarkable service structure just adjacent to the landing strip of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was perhaps a reflection of the high stakes that when Trump exchanged greetings with the Chinese leader in Busan, he appeared