What's the role of the Chinese yuan in forex?

The yuan is managed by the People's Bank of China within a daily band, not freely floated like the majors. Its moves still ripple through markets — especially into commodity currencies tied to Chinese demand.

Questions for the thread:

• how does the yuan's managed float differ from free-floating pairs?
• which pairs do you watch for China signals?
• how do Chinese data releases reach your trades?

The commodity currencies guide covers the China-AUD channel.