© Institute of China Studies. The United States’ pivot toward Asia has fuelled a new round of debates about the role of key Asian actors such as the People’s Republic of China (China) and traditional actors such as the European Union (EU) in global security. Using role theory, this paper examines EU-China security cooperation. The paper presents two case studies: Sino-EU maritime security cooperation in the Gulf of Aden and Sino-EU peacekeeping cooperation in Mali. These case studies examine the EU’s and China’s roles as security actors and as normative actors within non-traditional security challenges. The paper illustrates the kind of role the EU could play in the world in terms of security issues, as well as the norms and values that global security responses could create. The paper also gives a greater insight into the role a rising China could play in global security governance.