The US President's East Asia Tour Involves Agreements, Knee-Bending and a Significant Final Meeting

Presidential journeys overseas have historically been an occasion to display the power of the US on the world stage. Donald Trump's five-day swing through Asian nations, on the other hand, has been a display of the authority of the president – but also, at points, of that power's limitations.

Trump's destinations in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the span of the first four days were an demonstration in satisfying a occasionally unpredictable president. It was an acknowledgement that Trump, with the stroke of a document, could impose duties and further steps that have the potential to harm the economies of export-dependent states.

His meeting with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on the last day, though, was a distinct situation.

It was a encounter of equals on the world platform, where the stakes for each country – for their financial health, for their global standing, for the well-being of their citizens – were significant.

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

• The US president hails 'impressive' talks with the Chinese leader but no agreement finalized
• Xi and Trump find short-term ceasefire as Beijing adopts strategic patience

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

Each stop was characterized by a blend of conventional trade negotiations – deals made under the pressure of the president's "equivalent" taxes – and special treatment that at times approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump gained entry to key materials and made progress toward concluding commercial deals with regional partners. He also oversaw a pact that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the sort of "peace agreement" the president loves to tout.

In Japan, the president's official aircraft flew past a famous structure displayed US flag colors – with a peak in golden.

Freshly appointed Head the Japanese leader detailed $half-trillion in Japanese investments in the America and offered the American president a offering of two hundred fifty flowering trees for America's 250th birthday, and a golf equipment and case that belonged to former Prime Minister Abe, the killed ex-leader who bonded with the president in his first term.

She also became the newest international head to suggest Trump for his highly-coveted international honor.

Not to be outdone, South Korea received Trump with artillery discharging a 21-gun salute and a military band that rendered the presidential anthem and the Village People song – the Village People tune that has turned into a Trump rally anthem.

Head Lee Jae Myung held an "honour ceremony" for Trump during which he gave the president his nation's highest medal and a model of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Midday meal with Lee included a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-covered baked goods. Subsequently, the South Koreans served Trump premium vintage at an exclusive gathering in Trump's recognition with six global figures participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting.

In the United States, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Authority" rallies by US citizens who reject his authority-expanding increases of leader's control, but during his Asian visit he was received as monarchy.

And like the monarchs of history, the president visited the Korean nation seeking tribute – in the shape of $200bn in cash payments, $20 billion a per year, from South Korea to the US, to be invested at the discretion of the president's government. Agreement on the terms of those transfers contributed to that the duty level on Korean exports to the US would drop from a quarter to under twenty percent.

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

In that setting, the power dynamic between counterparts of the planet's biggest economic powers was markedly different than the interactions Trump had with his international peers in earlier stops.

Absent were the usual pomp and the display. No military bands, absent protocol units, without carefully crafted meal plans marking shared goodwill. By contrast, the two leaders and their top aides positioned themselves across a extended light-colored discussion surface in a plain service structure just off the runway of the city of Busan's international airport.

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