culture - On Being Chinese

Today I had a nice encounter with a Shanghainese friend who is working for a larger European chemical company and got a bit lost in the office politics. So we met at the Shanghai Railway station to have a lunch. "There are too many cars," I complained after we escaped again a car trying to kill pedestrians.
"Shanghai has too many cars and too many foreigners," she answered.
"Thank you very much," I replied.
"Oh, but I did not mean you," she said. "You are already a Chinese." I'm sure she meant it as a compliment but still not sure how to take it.