For the matter of calling foreigners, the people of our country have a tacit and conventional word, that is, "foreigner". The word has no pejorative connotations and is a properly neutral word. And in some Chinese contexts, it is even a friendly title for foreigners, just as you will call the neighbors Lao Wang, Lao Li, Lao Zhang and so on. The term "foreigner" also sounds like a closer relationship between oneself and foreigners in China.
In fact, foreigners do not like to be called "foreigners" by Chinese. Among them, the most taboo is the word "old", the word normal foreigner is translated into English as "foreign", and the English translation of "foreigner" is called "oldforeign". A problem that can be solved in one word, you have to add an old word in front of it. Moreover, individuals don't like people to say that they are old, and how can foreigners like this word when they first hear it.
To put it bluntly, it is still the difference between Chinese and Western cultures. After all, in our country, the word "old" does not only mean age, but also has the meaning of maturity and stability, familiarity and reliability. However, there are no polysemantic words in English, and foreigners obviously do not understand this level.
There was once an anecdote that two Chinese walking the streets of Los Angeles, USA, and one of the Chinese called Americans "foreigners", oldforeign. This move caused strong dissatisfaction among this American, who knew that in the territory of the United States, the two Chinese were the real "foreigners", and they called the locals "foreigners". To put it bluntly, the word laowai has been separated from the geographical concept, as long as it is not a Chinese nation, Chinese will call it "laowai" no matter where it is.
Then again, we would call foreigners "foreigners", and they wouldn't be very happy. So what do foreigners call us Chinese?
Historically, foreigners have not fixed the titles of Chinese, and each country has called China differently, and even in different historical dynasties, the names of foreign population Chinese have changed. For example, during the Tang Dynasty, China's national strength was strong and ranked first in the world. Therefore, the Chinese of that meeting was called Tang by foreigners, and this title is still used by foreigners in some countries to this day.
During the Ming Dynasty, the people of the Korean Peninsula liked to call our country "treasurers". The largest importer is undoubtedly China, because the Chinese people have long bought Ginseng from Koryo. That's why they call us "treasurers."
During the Yuan Dynasty, the Russians called our countrymen Khitans, and many readers here may not understand, is there not a special Khitan nation? Why Chinese Khitan? Mainly because Russia was in the stage of state formation, in which the Jingang Khanate, one of the four major Mongol khanates, played a key role in the formation of the Russian state.
It was thanks to more than 200 years of colonization by the Golden Horde that the Slavs were able to unite and work together to overthrow Mongol rule and establish Tsarist Russia. The Mongols who administered the Golden Horde were called Khitans, and the Yuan Dynasty of our country was actually one of the four great Khanates of Mongolia. Therefore, our people have also been divided into the category of Khitan by them, and this title has been inherited, and now the pronunciation of the word "Chinese" in Russian is called Khitan.
The most famous and least accepted by our people is the Japanese name for our "Indochina" at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government and the weakening of China's national strength, the title "China" has obvious irony and contemptuous provocative connotations, and now in our country it is a sensitive word for who to mention and who is anxious.
To put it bluntly, the titles of these foreigners to China are closely related to the national strength of our country, and as long as China is strong, these titles cannot be difficult to hear. Otherwise, even if people scream wildly, they can't spit out a good word. Therefore, we must strive to build the motherland well and let more "foreigners" look at us with admiration.