Karachi [Pakistan], May 3 (ANI): A Chinese company operating in Pakistan's Gwadar Free Zone shut down its factory and terminated all employees, citing an unworkable business climate and mounting financial losses on Friday, according to The Express Tribune.

Hangeng Trade Company announced the closure on International Labour Day, saying in an official statement that 'non-commercial factors' and operational difficulties had made continued business operations impossible.

The company said that despite meeting international export standards, its shipments remained stuck, pushing the business into sustained losses. It added that it had remained in contact with authorities over the past three months in an attempt to resolve the issues, but no solution emerged.

As a result, the company claimed to have been forced to cease operations. Hangeng Trade Company stated that before shutting down, it had cleared all outstanding obligations, including all three months' salaries for employees, penalties, electricity bills and container demurrage charges.

The firm emphasised that Pakistan and China remain close partners and noted that Gwadar is a flagship project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative. It said its investment was made in the spirit of bilateral cooperation, but stressed that a 'clear and workable policy environment' is necessary for businesses to survive.

The company also thanked the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Planning for supporting Pak-China economic cooperation, while cautioning prospective investors to carefully evaluate uncertainties linked to projects in Gwadar.

According to the news report, the development comes ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's expected visit to China later this month for a business-to-business investment forum, raising fresh concerns about investor confidence and the future of foreign-backed ventures in the region.

The company expressed regret over the layoffs, saying it could no longer sustain employment under the prevailing conditions.

Meanwhile, Iran's latest proposal aimed at advancing negotiations to end the ongoing West Asia conflict with the US came in response to amendments introduced by Washington to a draft plan aimed at ending the conflict, as reported by Axios.

According to Axios, citing sources familiar with the matter, the latest proposal submitted by Iran through Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator in the talks, came after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff sent a list of amendments on April 27, focusing on reintroducing the nuclear issue into the draft framework.

The Iranian state media IRNA reported that Tehran had submitted its latest proposal aimed at advancing negotiations to end the ongoing West Asia conflict with the US.

Tehran handed over the text of its new proposal to Pakistan on the evening of April 30, though details of Tehran's counter-terms have not been fully disclosed.

Meanwhile, on May 1, the United States announced a new wave of sanctions targeting Iran's financial and energy networks, escalating pressure on Tehran's oil revenues and its commercial links with China.

In a post on X, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Iran as 'the head of the snake for global terrorism,' adding that under the leadership of US President Donald Trump, the Treasury was acting 'aggressively' through the initiative titled 'Economic Fury'.

He highlighted the X post of the US Treasury Department, which said that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had designated three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses along with affiliated front companies, accusing them of facilitating billions of dollars in transactions that ultimately support Iran's military and regional proxy networks.

The Treasury Department said these exchange houses play a central role in converting Iran's oil revenues, which it claimed to be largely settled in Chinese yuan, into currencies usable by the Iranian government and its allied groups.

Earlier, the latest round of peace talks, which should have been held in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran, was cancelled after the Iranian delegation, led by its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, departed Islamabad on the evening of April 25 after a day of high-level meetings with the Pakistani leadership, leaving Pakistan's ambitious claims of brokering a US-Iran peace deal as part of the second round of negotiations in tatters.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the delegation left the Pakistani capital after delivering an 'official list of demands' to Pakistani leaders for the US and Israel in order to achieve a complete solution to the conflict in West Asia. (ANI)