diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index edfa6b7a2c..b9e5114a27 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -2185,6 +2185,7 @@ int bdrv_open_backing_file(BlockDriverState *bs, QDict *parent_options,
         ret = -EINVAL;
         goto free_exit;
     }
+    bdrv_set_aio_context(backing_hd, bdrv_get_aio_context(bs));
 
     /* Hook up the backing file link; drop our reference, bs owns the
      * backing_hd reference now */