diff --git a/cmd/containerd/builtins/cri.go b/cmd/containerd/builtins/cri.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b7b31384d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/containerd/builtins/cri.go
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+//go:build !no_cri
+
+/*
+   Copyright The containerd Authors.
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package builtins
+
+import (
+	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/pkg/cri"
+)
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/main.go b/cmd/containerd/main.go
index 7eee0ddf5..ad6db40bd 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/main.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/pkg/seed"
 
 	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/cmd/containerd/builtins"
-	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/pkg/cri"
 )
 
 func init() {