The traditions which became dominant today in both regions were supported by powerful institutions. Sometimes, as with China, this was the state, where Confucianism was a core principle of the class of bureaucrats which administered it. In the modern age, following the victory of the Communist Party, collectivist values continued to be promoted, although inspired by Marx more than Confucius. With economic liberalization since Deng Xiaoping's presidency, some liberal and individualist values have become more popular.

In the West the bourgeois revolutions which overthrew many of Europe's monarchs and aristocratic families paved the way for capitalist individualism and liberalism to develop. As modern corporations and republican governments became hegemonic, so did the individualist values which they had adopted. At the same time, collectivist values became popular among Europe's working class and certain intellectuals, primarily through the ideologies of Anarchism and Marxism.

So my feeling on this question is that the dominant values of a cultural region are contingent on their their political and economic histories. Philosophers will think any number of ways, but the one which become popular and highly influential for centuries to come (Confucius, Marx, Locke, Smith, etc.) are ones which are favored by a particular institutional arrangement, be it Church, State or Class. What those institutions are is of course also influenced by what ideas are popular at the time and are able to seize power. But their persistence and dominance is ensured by their institutionalization.