Yuan decision just part of the reform process

Rate change will help meet the IMF's criteria for including currency in the SDR basket

The depreciation of the Chinese yuan by around 3 percent against the United States dollar has underscored the pressure on the country's economy. It has also highlighted the commitment by authorities to market-oriented reform.

Fitch Ratings Inc, a globally-recognized statistical rating organization, sees the reform process as crucial to tackling unresolved structural weaknesses. Allowing markets a freer role at this stage will entail risks. But the authorities' calculations seem to be that the risks of doing nothing are far greater.