Chinese firms entering Pakistan is not a “threat” to the country’s industrial sector, said a federal minister Sunday, amid speculations that Beijing’s increasing presence could pose a problem for local industrialists.

Ahsan Iqbal, the planning minister who is overseeing the $57-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said industrial cooperation between Pakistan and China will promote local industry and production capacity.

“Chinese industry is not a threat to Pakistan’s industrial sector but it will provide the opportunity to learn new skills and enhance capacity,” he added.

Iqbal said promotion of industrial development was the “fourth key pillar” of CPEC. “Establishment of Chinese industries in Pakistan will help eradicate unemployment in the country and boost skill development,” he added.

Pakistan and China are collaborating on multiple energy and infrastructure projects under CPEC, Beijing’s ambitious trade and energy corridor plan stretching from the Persian Gulf, across Pakistan, into western Xinjiang.

Last year, the Applied Economics Research Centre estimated the corridor would create 700,000 jobs in Pakistan and a Chinese newspaper recently put the number at more than two million.