diff --git a/include/migration/migration.h b/include/migration/migration.h
index e831259c3b..8280df12e5 100644
--- a/include/migration/migration.h
+++ b/include/migration/migration.h
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "qemu/thread.h"
 #include "qemu/notify.h"
 #include "migration/vmstate.h"
+#include "io/channel.h"
 #include "qapi-types.h"
 #include "exec/cpu-common.h"
 #include "qemu/coroutine_int.h"
diff --git a/include/migration/qemu-file.h b/include/migration/qemu-file.h
index 0cd648a733..b5ac800258 100644
--- a/include/migration/qemu-file.h
+++ b/include/migration/qemu-file.h
@@ -27,8 +27,6 @@
 
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 #include "exec/cpu-common.h"
-#include "io/channel.h"
-
 
 /* Read a chunk of data from a file at the given position.  The pos argument
  * can be ignored if the file is only be used for streaming.  The number of
@@ -119,8 +117,6 @@ typedef struct QEMUFileHooks {
 } QEMUFileHooks;
 
 QEMUFile *qemu_fopen_ops(void *opaque, const QEMUFileOps *ops);
-QEMUFile *qemu_fopen_channel_input(QIOChannel *ioc);
-QEMUFile *qemu_fopen_channel_output(QIOChannel *ioc);
 void qemu_file_set_hooks(QEMUFile *f, const QEMUFileHooks *hooks);
 int qemu_get_fd(QEMUFile *f);
 int qemu_fclose(QEMUFile *f);
diff --git a/migration/channel.c b/migration/channel.c
index 40c63824c1..2e78905cc7 100644
--- a/migration/channel.c
+++ b/migration/channel.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "channel.h"
 #include "migration/migration.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "trace.h"
 #include "qapi/error.h"
 #include "io/channel-tls.h"
diff --git a/migration/colo.c b/migration/colo.c
index dd38fed2d8..9cd0250da7 100644
--- a/migration/colo.c
+++ b/migration/colo.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "qemu/timer.h"
 #include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "migration/colo.h"
 #include "migration/block.h"
 #include "io/channel-buffer.h"
diff --git a/migration/migration.c b/migration/migration.c
index 217616df6a..2d9379cc4e 100644
--- a/migration/migration.c
+++ b/migration/migration.c
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "qemu/main-loop.h"
 #include "migration/blocker.h"
 #include "migration/migration.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "migration/qemu-file.h"
 #include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
 #include "block/block.h"
diff --git a/migration/qemu-file-channel.c b/migration/qemu-file-channel.c
index 45c13f1028..dc991c9051 100644
--- a/migration/qemu-file-channel.c
+++ b/migration/qemu-file-channel.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "migration/qemu-file.h"
 #include "io/channel-socket.h"
 #include "qemu/iov.h"
diff --git a/migration/qemu-file-channel.h b/migration/qemu-file-channel.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0028a09eb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migration/qemu-file-channel.h
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+/*
+ * QEMUFile backend for QIOChannel objects
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2015-2016 Red Hat, Inc
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
+ * THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+#ifndef QEMU_FILE_CHANNEL_H
+#define QEMU_FILE_CHANNEL_H
+
+#include "io/channel.h"
+
+QEMUFile *qemu_fopen_channel_input(QIOChannel *ioc);
+QEMUFile *qemu_fopen_channel_output(QIOChannel *ioc);
+#endif
diff --git a/migration/rdma.c b/migration/rdma.c
index 7eaaf96479..166cd60a77 100644
--- a/migration/rdma.c
+++ b/migration/rdma.c
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "migration/migration.h"
 #include "migration/qemu-file.h"
 #include "exec/cpu-common.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "qemu/error-report.h"
 #include "qemu/main-loop.h"
 #include "qemu/sockets.h"
diff --git a/migration/savevm.c b/migration/savevm.c
index a728414b33..85651030b4 100644
--- a/migration/savevm.c
+++ b/migration/savevm.c
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 #include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
 #include "qemu/timer.h"
 #include "migration/migration.h"
+#include "qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "postcopy-ram.h"
 #include "qapi/qmp/qerror.h"
 #include "qemu/error-report.h"
diff --git a/tests/test-vmstate.c b/tests/test-vmstate.c
index f694a89782..1c135708f4 100644
--- a/tests/test-vmstate.c
+++ b/tests/test-vmstate.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 #include "migration/migration.h"
 #include "migration/vmstate.h"
+#include "../migration/qemu-file-channel.h"
 #include "qemu/coroutine.h"
 #include "io/channel-file.h"