Because white is the first word in that sentence.
Also, Google accused in lawsuit of excluding white and Asian men in hiring to boost diversity
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/01/google-a...
We do say "White Americans", meaning Americans who are "white", which means people whose ancestors were Europeans (including Russia), or from Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan, North Africa, or some (but not all) other Muslim areas.
Then "Asian" includes everyone else whose ancestors were from Asia: China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, etc.
When combined with nationality or geographical location, race is said first, so "White Asian" would mean someone living in Asia whose ancestors were European, most likely, though it's not a phrase I've heard.
proper nouns and derivations thereof are capitalized
Not when used as adjectives, as in the given example. Had it been hyphenated, creating a lone noun, "Asian-American" would work.