Languages' Limits - Westerner

So the opposite is true, in Chinese, generic term referring to "White people" is Westerner.  I remember thinking, Australia is clearly South, not West, Russia is clearly North, not West. America is clearly East, not West.  

Preceding the work Westerner, it was "people from the Western seas", contrasting the "people from the Eastern seas", ie Japan.

Preceding that, the famous novel Journey to the West, published in 16th century, refer to central Asia.

West has been a generic word for foreign.