China launched a national foundation benefiting overseas-educated Chinese in Beijing on Monday, in an attempt to plug the country's brain drain.

The China Overseas-educated Talent Development Foundation was initiated by Western Returned Scholars Association, and will accept donations from home and abroad to help overseas-educated Chinese boost their careers in the country.

"The foundation will assist government departments to tap overseas talent resources and attract more overseas Chinese scholars to return home and serve the country," said an official with the foundation.

With an estimated 300,000 well-trained Chinese personnel working abroad, China is among the most affected by the so-called brain drain, said a recent research by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Statistics from the Ministry of Personnel show that of the 1.07 million students China has sent overseas since 1978, only about a quarter have returned.