With a tiny step forward, China has begun the long process of overhauling its currency policy.
By itself, Thursday's 2.1 per cent upward revaluation of the yuan against the US dollar will have a minimal direct impact on the world's economy. It will not appreciably undermine the competitiveness of China's exporters, nor will it noticeably slow China's rapid pace of economic growth.
It certainly will not reduce America's massive trade deficit.
Yet the long-term implications of China's policy change for businesses, market traders and policy-makers are enormous. Thursday's adoption of a managed float against a basket of currencies gives Beijing the leeway it will need to adjust the value of the yuan in response to changing economic conditions. In time, that flexibility will help pave the way towards a freely floating exchange rate, a fully convertible currency and deregulated domestic interest rates.
But the day when the value of the yuan is determined solely by the market is still a long way off. Following Thursday's modest revaluation, casual observers are unlikely to detect any difference in China's day-to-day management of its exchange rate for many months to come.
'What China has done is lay down a framework that works in the long term, even though in practice it will look very similar to the old regime,' says Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered.