The US President's Asia Visit Features Agreements, Knee-Bending and a Significant Final Meeting

Presidential journeys internationally have typically been an occasion to showcase the power of the American nation on the global scene. The president's five-day swing through eastern Asia, on the other hand, has been a demonstration of the authority of the leader – but also, at times, of that influence's boundaries.

Trump's stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea over the course of the first four days were an demonstration in satisfying a sometimes volatile American president. It was an admission that Trump, with the flick of a hand, could enact tariffs and additional actions that have the potential to devastate the financial systems of export-dependent states.

His meeting with Beijing's head Xi Jinping on Thursday, nevertheless, was a distinct situation.

It was a encounter of equals on the international scene, where the risks for the two powers – for their markets, for their global standing, for the well-being of their citizens – were significant.

With the Chinese, the president may flick his pen, but those steps entail consequences. They come with a toll.

• The US president praises 'amazing' encounter with Xi but no pact finalized
• The Chinese president and the US leader find brief pause as China adopts strategic patience

For the initial phase, Trump's recent entry into global diplomacy was smooth sailing.

Each visit was punctuated by a blend of standard economic talks – agreements made under the shadow of the president's "reciprocal" taxes – and individual concessions that at times approached the deferential.

In the Malaysian stop, Trump secured access to critical minerals and made advances toward concluding trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should alleviate border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the type of "truce" the American president prefers to promote.

In Japan, Trump's Marine One flew past a famous structure illuminated American colors – with a summit in gilded.

Recently chosen Leader Sanai Takaichi detailed $550bn in Japanese investments in the United States and offered the president a present of a quarter-thousand flowering trees for America's 250th birthday, and a golf equipment and carrier that was owned by former Prime Minister Abe, the killed ex-leader who developed ties with Trump in his previous administration.

She also became the newest foreign leader to propose the president for his highly-coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

Not to be outdone, Korea greeted Trump with cannons discharging a traditional greeting and a service ensemble that rendered the leader's song and the classic tune – the musical group tune that has become a Trump rally anthem.

Leader Lee held an "award event" for the US leader during which he gave the US president his nation's premier award and a model of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Noon repast with Lee featured a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-encrusted chocolate squares. Afterward, the South Koreans served Trump vineyard wine at an intimate dinner in Trump's honor with multiple world leaders present at the regional summit meeting.

In the US, the president may be the focus of "Anti-Monarchy" protests by Americans who oppose his boundary-testing increases of executive authority, but during his Asian tour he was received as nobility.

And like the rulers of history, Trump came to Korea seeking payment – in the guise of $two hundred billion in financial transfers, $20bn a year, from South Korea to the United States, to be used at the discretion of Trump's government. Agreement on the details of those contributions assisted in that the tax percentage on South Korean products to the America would decrease from 25% to 15%.

The main event of Trump's Asian tour occurred in its concluding phase, though, as he met with Xi.

In that setting, the influence relationship between heads of the world's two largest economies was noticeably divergent than the meetings Trump had with his foreign counterparts in earlier stops.

Not present were typical pageantry and the pageantry. Without any military bands, no ceremonial troops, no carefully crafted dining selections honoring mutual national affection. Instead, the two leaders and their top aides positioned themselves across a extended light-colored negotiating table in a unremarkable military building just near the airstrip of the city of Busan's global terminal.

It was perhaps a indication of the significant risks that when the president shook hands with the Chinese leader in Busan, he seemed