Sino - Kadazan.

From Late Latin Sinae (“‘the Chinese’”), from Ancient Greek Σινάι, from Arabic الصين (aʂ-ʂīn), “‘China, the Chinese’”), from Mandarin اط (qيn) in اط³¯ (qيn chلo), “‘Chin Dynasty’”).

Sino-

1. A combining form relating to China or the Chinese.

In the 1970s, Sino-Soviet rivalry also spread to Africa and the Middle East.

He's a Sino-Kadazan: half Chinese, half Kadazan.

The Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Dusun ethnic group, and also because of other political initiatives, a new unified term called "Kadazan-dusun" was created. Collectively, they form largest ethnic group Sabah.

While Kadazan was an official designation for this ethnic group, it is widely believed that the term itself was a political derivative that came into existence in the late 1950s to early 1960s. No proper historical record exists pertaining to the origins of the term or its originator. However, an article written by Richard Tunggolou[1] on this matter may shed some light.

According to Mr. Tunggolou, most of the explanations of the meanings and origins of the word ‘Kadazan’ assumed that the word was of recent origin, specifically in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. He says that some people have theorized that the term originates from the word ‘kakadazan’ (towns) or ‘kedai’ (shops), and from the claim that Kadazan politicians such as the late Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin coined the term. In fact, the word ‘Kadazan’ is not of recent origin. There was evidence that the term has been used long before the 1950s. Owen Rutter, in his book, “The Pagans Of North Borneo”, published in 1929, wrote: “The Dusun usually describes himself generically as a tulun tindal (landsman) or, on the West Coast, particularly at Papar, as a Kadazan.” (page 31). Owen Rutter worked in Sabah for five years as District Officer in all five residencies and left Sabah with the onset of the First World War. 

This means that he started working in Sabah from 1910 and left Sabah in 1914. We can therefore safely say that the word ‘Kadazan’ was already in existence before any towns or shops were built in the Penampang district and that Kadazan politicians did not invent the word in the late fifties and early sixties.