MILAN (Reuters) - Pirelli shareholder Brembo is concerned about tensions with Sinochem's Chinese and is likely to steer clear of any plans to build an Italian majority in the tire maker, sources told Reuters.

Last week, the government intervened in a governance agreement between Pirelli's two largest shareholders -- Sinochem and Camfin -- using so-called "golden power" aimed at protecting key domestic assets.

Rome's move will limit the influence of Sinochem, Pirelli's largest shareholder with 37 percent.

Brembo, which holds a 6 percent stake in the tire company, has its own share agreement with Camfin, the investment vehicle of Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, who has headed the company since 1992.

Although Camfin owns only 14.1 percent of Pirelli, its influence over the company has strengthened as a result of golden power measures.

Analysts say Brembo could be part of a future stable group of Italian shareholders, an alternative to the Chinese, ready to armor control of Pirelli. But fears about the potential impact on its operations in China could lead the Bergamo-based company to keep out of the fray.

China is the third largest market for Brembo, after the United States and Germany. The group's operations in the country include four production sites and a joint venture with local partner Gold Phoenix to produce brake pads.

Another source explained that Brembo's management has been following Pirelli's recent developments very closely and wants to maintain a "very cautious stance on the matter."

"If China were to somehow retaliate, it would not only be Brembo that would suffer, but the entire Italian economy," the source said, referring to Italian companies' extensive business interests in China.

According to Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, professor of strategy at SDA Bocconi, Italian companies can no longer do without China, which has become one of the world's largest markets, including in the automotive sector.

"Avoid waking the dragon and protect their intellectual properties: this is the first thing to do for Italian companies operating in China," he said.

(Giulio Piovaccari, translated by Enrico Sciacovelli, editing Francesca Piscioneri)