diff --git a/migration/multifd.c b/migration/multifd.c
index 3db18dc79e..adfe8c9a0a 100644
--- a/migration/multifd.c
+++ b/migration/multifd.c
@@ -62,6 +62,11 @@ struct {
      * Make it easy for now.
      */
     uintptr_t packet_num;
+    /*
+     * Synchronization point past which no more channels will be
+     * created.
+     */
+    QemuSemaphore channels_created;
     /* send channels ready */
     QemuSemaphore channels_ready;
     /*
@@ -622,10 +627,6 @@ static void multifd_send_terminate_threads(void)
 
     /*
      * Finally recycle all the threads.
-     *
-     * TODO: p->running is still buggy, e.g. we can reach here without the
-     * corresponding multifd_new_send_channel_async() get invoked yet,
-     * then a new thread can even be created after this function returns.
      */
     for (i = 0; i < migrate_multifd_channels(); i++) {
         MultiFDSendParams *p = &multifd_send_state->params[i];
@@ -670,6 +671,7 @@ static bool multifd_send_cleanup_channel(MultiFDSendParams *p, Error **errp)
 
 static void multifd_send_cleanup_state(void)
 {
+    qemu_sem_destroy(&multifd_send_state->channels_created);
     qemu_sem_destroy(&multifd_send_state->channels_ready);
     g_free(multifd_send_state->params);
     multifd_send_state->params = NULL;
@@ -954,18 +956,26 @@ static void multifd_new_send_channel_async(QIOTask *task, gpointer opaque)
 
     if (migrate_channel_requires_tls_upgrade(ioc)) {
         ret = multifd_tls_channel_connect(p, ioc, &local_err);
+        if (ret) {
+            return;
+        }
     } else {
         ret = multifd_channel_connect(p, ioc, &local_err);
     }
 
+out:
+    /*
+     * Here we're not interested whether creation succeeded, only that
+     * it happened at all.
+     */
+    qemu_sem_post(&multifd_send_state->channels_created);
+
     if (ret) {
         return;
     }
 
-out:
     trace_multifd_new_send_channel_async_error(p->id, local_err);
     multifd_send_set_error(local_err);
-    multifd_send_kick_main(p);
     if (!p->c) {
         /*
          * If no channel has been created, drop the initial
@@ -998,6 +1008,7 @@ bool multifd_send_setup(void)
     multifd_send_state = g_malloc0(sizeof(*multifd_send_state));
     multifd_send_state->params = g_new0(MultiFDSendParams, thread_count);
     multifd_send_state->pages = multifd_pages_init(page_count);
+    qemu_sem_init(&multifd_send_state->channels_created, 0);
     qemu_sem_init(&multifd_send_state->channels_ready, 0);
     qatomic_set(&multifd_send_state->exiting, 0);
     multifd_send_state->ops = multifd_ops[migrate_multifd_compression()];
@@ -1023,6 +1034,15 @@ bool multifd_send_setup(void)
         multifd_new_send_channel_create(p);
     }
 
+    /*
+     * Wait until channel creation has started for all channels. The
+     * creation can still fail, but no more channels will be created
+     * past this point.
+     */
+    for (i = 0; i < thread_count; i++) {
+        qemu_sem_wait(&multifd_send_state->channels_created);
+    }
+
     for (i = 0; i < thread_count; i++) {
         MultiFDSendParams *p = &multifd_send_state->params[i];