I don't know what the person you're responding to meant, but you might want to have a chat with your Chinese friends about different skin colors. Not only do many cultures have a thing about lighter skin shades, even the 1920s US backlash against immigration was mostly about 'swarthy' southern Europeans, who weren't as lily-white as northern Europeans.

Interestingly, in the non-predominantly-white countries I’ve lived in, lighter skin tones are desired heavily, and are often a class indicator. People will use creams with ingredients like mercury to attempt to lighten their skin colour.