What's happening in Hong Kong right now has direct bearings on Australia. It goes to an issue crucial to our position in a world economic order that is likely to be shaped less by the United States, still our most important ally, and more by China, our ever more valuable trading partner.

Protesters surround a man carrying a t-shirt baring the words "I love police" who protesters claimed was a police officer from mainland China. Credit:AP

At the heart of the Hong Kong protests is the same issue that causes concern about China's ambitions from the South China Sea to the South Pacific. It's about the Chinese government's commitment to an idiosyncratic idea of the rule of law.

Hong Kong has something like a constitution, or bill of rights, called the Hong Kong Basic Law. It's a legacy of British colonial rule, which the Chinese government agreed to preserve because there was value in keeping Hong Kong the prosperous city it had become.

China has a very different approach to law. Its constitution can and has been changed at the whim of the ruling party. There is no separation of powers, and no such thing as an independent judiciary.