diff --git a/ui/spice-core.c b/ui/spice-core.c
index bb4f58584a..a515c946ca 100644
--- a/ui/spice-core.c
+++ b/ui/spice-core.c
@@ -546,6 +546,18 @@ static int add_channel(const char *name, const char *value, void *opaque)
     return 0;
 }
 
+static void vm_change_state_handler(void *opaque, int running,
+                                    RunState state)
+{
+#if SPICE_SERVER_VERSION >= 0x000b02 /* 0.11.2 */
+    if (running) {
+        spice_server_vm_start(spice_server);
+    } else {
+        spice_server_vm_stop(spice_server);
+    }
+#endif
+}
+
 void qemu_spice_init(void)
 {
     QemuOpts *opts = QTAILQ_FIRST(&qemu_spice_opts.head);
@@ -719,6 +731,8 @@ void qemu_spice_init(void)
     qemu_spice_input_init();
     qemu_spice_audio_init();
 
+    qemu_add_vm_change_state_handler(vm_change_state_handler, &spice_server);
+
     g_free(x509_key_file);
     g_free(x509_cert_file);
     g_free(x509_cacert_file);