When and where

• Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s remarks during his China visit to the Boao Forum for Asia conference have sparked criticism in India.

• Yunus highlighted the lack of connectivity and trade in the region, referring to the northeastern Indian States as a “land-locked” area.

• He referred to Bangladesh as the “guardian of ocean access” and called on China to view the Indian States, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh as an “extension of the Chinese economy”.

• Yunus’s visit to China has been viewed as a diplomatic snub and a possible sign of Bangladesh shifting its foreign policy orientation.

• Political leaders have criticized Yunus’s comments, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma calling them “offensive and strongly condemnable”.

• Yunus’s remarks reflected a lack of sensitivity towards how countries might interpret statements that support China’s economic hegemony in the region.

• A more suitable platform for discussions could have been the upcoming BIMSTEC summit in Thailand.

• Yunus received two letters from India this week, one extending Eid-ul-Fitr greetings and another from Modi on the anniversary of Bangladesh’s Independence Day.