I can only speculate, but I assume it has to do with the government structure. China's leadership is much more insulated (electorally) from the population than the European leadership. Said another way, European leadership is more accountable to their constituents and social safety nets are popular.

Chinese leadership are more accountable to the party which is just a subset of the population, not the population at large. I assume those in the party are on average better off and have less need for a social safety net, so they are less likely to demand that from the leadership. This is pure speculation though.