diff --git a/sshfs/spec.py b/sshfs/spec.py
index 046a6ec..fd7eb93 100644
--- a/sshfs/spec.py
+++ b/sshfs/spec.py
@@ -203,6 +203,12 @@ async def _get_file(
 
     @wrap_exceptions
     async def _cp_file(self, lpath, rpath, **kwargs):
+        # some SFTP servers support the copy-data extension
+        with suppress(SFTPOpUnsupported):
+            async with self._pool.get() as channel:
+                await channel.copy(lpath, rpath)
+                return
+
         cmd = f"cp {shlex.quote(lpath)} {shlex.quote(rpath)}"
         await self._execute(cmd)