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American leader visits overseas have historically been an occasion to demonstrate the power of the American nation on the international platform. Donald Trump's multi-day tour through East Asia, by contrast, has been a demonstration of the power of the president – but also, at points, of that power's limitations.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the duration of the initial days were an exercise in catering to a occasionally mercurial American president. It was an admission that the leader, with the stroke of a pen, could impose tariffs and additional actions that have the ability to harm the financial systems of export-dependent states.

His discussion with China's president Xi on Thursday, however, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of counterparts on the world platform, where the risks for both nations – for their financial health, for their international prestige, for the well-being of their people – were significant.

With China, the US leader may use his power, but those steps involve repercussions. They involve a cost.

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For the first four days, Trump's most recent venture into international relations was uneventful.

Each visit was characterized by a mix of traditional trade negotiations – deals made under the shadow of the president's "mutual" duties – and personal accommodations that at times bordered on the obsequious.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump obtained rights to essential resources and made progress toward concluding commercial deals with regional partners. He also oversaw a agreement that should reduce territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace agreement" the American president prefers to highlight.

In Japan, the president's Marine One soared near a famous structure lit US flag colors – with a top in golden.

Newly elected Head Sanai Takaichi detailed $550 billion in Tokyo's funding in the US and presented the US leader a present of a quarter-thousand cherry trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a golf club and carrier that belonged to the late leader, the killed past head who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the newest international head to nominate the president for his highly-coveted international honor.

Not to be outdone, South Korea received the president with cannons discharging a traditional greeting and a military band that performed the leader's song and YMCA – the Village People tune that has evolved into a presidential event theme.

Leader Lee Jae Myung held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he presented the American leader his nation's top honor and a copy of an historical royal headpiece.

Lunch with the Korean leader included a "Peacemaker's Dessert" of gold-covered baked goods. Later that day, the hosts offered the president vineyard wine at an exclusive gathering in Trump's honour with multiple world leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the United States, the president may be the subject of "No Kings" rallies by Americans who oppose his limit-pushing expansions of executive authority, but during his regional tour he was treated like royalty.

And like the rulers of ancient times, Trump arrived in Korea seeking contribution – in the form of $200 billion in financial transfers, $twenty billion a per year, from the host nation to the US, to be used at the guidance of Trump's leadership. Agreement on the conditions of those payments assisted in that the tariff rate on Korean exports to the US would drop from a quarter to 15%.

The primary focus of Trump's regional visit came in its last moments, nevertheless, as he encountered Xi.

There, the authority balance between leaders of the world's two largest economies was noticeably distinct than the exchanges the president had with his overseas colleagues in earlier stops.

Missing were typical ceremony and the pageantry. Lacking service ensembles, no protocol units, missing thoughtfully prepared dining selections honoring bilateral friendship. By contrast, the pair of counterparts and their key staff positioned themselves across a large pale meeting furniture in a nondescript armed forces facility just off the runway of Busan's air transport hub.

It was perhaps a reflection of the high stakes that when the president exchanged greetings with Xi in the Korean city, he looked