A U.S. expert on Korean affairs says China does not want the two Koreas to reunite.

Peter Beck, a Pantech Research Fellow at Stanford University, made the assessment during a speech delivered at the South Korean Embassy in Washington on Wednesday.

Beck said that should the North collapse and the two Koreas’ unify, China would rush to shut its borders with North Korea and would attempt to block the confusion in the North from spreading into China.

Beck said China’s top priority when it comes to its policies on the Korean Peninsula is stability.