Can you help me with this European History question?

In the earliest medieval times, Islam spread further and wider than any previous great civilization. During the European Renaissance period, in the early 1400s, Chinese mariners sailed immense fleets of ships all throughout the Indian Ocean world. These were probably the biggest wooden ships ever to set sail on Earth. Yet, it was European explorers who opened ocean pathways throughout the globe. Why they and not other Eurasian peoples?