In the digital age, the China-US-EU game play in the digital field has become the main battlefield of international competition. The confrontation in the digital field between China and the US has become a new normal. The US and EU are in the middle of a complex interaction of competition and cooperation. And the China-EU digital relationship is as well undergoing changes. In order to expand new space for development, China should take cross-border data flows cooperation as a starting point to leverage China-Europe digital cooperation, so as to prevent the two sides from evolving into “systemic rivals” in the digital field. China-EU cross-border data flows cooperation is facing some major obstacles such as the changes in the digital relationship between China and Europe, a lack of trust in the digital field, and differences in their values and regulatory approaches. The results of such cooperation ultimately depend on whether a cooperation framework based on the rules agreed by both parties could be established. China-EU cooperation should get rid of the stereotype of interest and systemic game, balance the concerns of both parties, take into account the Brussels effect in the field of data protection and the data security demands under China’s holistic approach to national security, and establish a cross-border flows cooperation mechanism for personal and non-personal data respectively. China-EU cooperation should focus on long-term cooperation and strive for “early harvest” to provide institutional international public goods for the digital field.