President Xi Jinping says that the world should welcome China's rise as the new powerhouse of global economics. China's Belt and Road plan, Xi says, will make everyone more wealthy while respecting the individual freedom of each nation.

Hong Kong is a huge problem for those claims, specifically in relation to the word "individual freedom."

What happened in Hong Kong this weekend shows that citizens of modern economies don't tend to like Xi's offer. Not at all. This weekend, hundreds of thousands protested a pending law that will allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to the Chinese mainland. Beijing and its Hong Kong allies say that the law poses no threat to individual freedom because it would only allow extradition for serious criminal offenses, not political ones. But Hongkongers know that China's authoritarian government would create a false criminal warrant to capture its political opponents.

Still, Hong Kong shows that where citizens are living otherwise good lives of economic opportunity, many despise the Chinese political system. Hong Kong's anger over the extradition law is only symptomatic of a broader disgust. The former British colony also saw massive protests last week over the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The point is that people who have knowledge of liberal democracy, like Hongkongers, don't buy into Beijing's bargain that prosperity is worth sacrificing democratic values.

That's Xi's existential problem: his global ambition requires submission to China.

While Xi tries to hide that reality behind the dangle of massive investments, he must ultimately control nations and people. If not, those nations and people will eventually realize that China's investments come with a very unpleasant taste — namely, the requirement of kneeling to Xi's foreign policy and his theft of the best creations. Hence, why Chinese state media is hyperventilating that the hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers taking to the streets are actually just American agents.

Still, we should be hopeful. While some useful idiots guzzle Xi's lies, an increasing plurality of free peoples do not.

America is far from perfect. Our politicians too often put partisanship before patriotism. But our Constitution, institutions, and community character ensure that America is the greatest place to live, and the greatest international force for good.

Thanks to the American-led international order and its free market foundation, the world has never been more free or more prosperous. We must make that case relentlessly, and stare down those like China and its puppet Russia who unwisely choose to challenge us.