欧美同学会（中国留学人员联谊会）是由中央书记处领导、中央统战部代管的全国性留学人员组织，成立于1913年。2003年增冠“中国留学人员联谊会”会名。
1913年10月，在辛亥革命创立共和、建立民国的时代潮流下，欧美同学会在北京诞生，顾维钧、周诒春、詹天佑、蔡元培等知名海归成为创立者和早期会员。
建会之初，欧美同学会积极践行爱国思想，组织会员参与爱国民主运动、投身民族救亡和人民解放事业。
新中国成立后，欧美同学会积极争取党和政府的领导，参与了中华人民共和国成立初期重大运动，为抗美援朝捐献资金，动员海外学人冲破重重阻挠回国，参加社会主义建设事业。
1982年，欧美同学会恢复活动。借助改革开放的春风，欧美同学会发挥自身优势，发起“报国计划”，组织海外留学人员服务团，服务地方经济社会发展，为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设作出了贡献。
进入新世纪后，欧美同学会增冠了“中国留学人员联谊会”会名，积极贯彻落实党中央提出的“努力成为党联系广大留学人员的桥梁和纽带，成为党和政府做好留学人员工作的助手，成为留学人员之家”的要求，着力加强思想建设、组织建设、文化建设和会员之家建设。发挥人才智力优势，建立留学报国基地，向党和政府建言献策，做好海外高层次人才服务工作，社会影响逐渐扩大。
党中央历来重视和关心留学人员和欧美同学会工作，毛泽东同志曾在莫斯科大学发表“希望寄托在你们身上”重要讲话，周恩来同志曾多次到欧美同学会出席活动，1987年邓小平同志为欧美同学会会刊题词，1993年江泽民同志出席欧美同学会成立80周年庆祝大会并发表重要讲话，2003年胡锦涛同志出席欧美同学会成立90周年庆祝大会并发表重要讲话。
党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视欧美同学会发展。2013年10月，习近平总书记出席欧美同学会成立100周年庆祝大会并发表重要讲话，重要讲话成为欧美同学会开展工作、发挥作用的行动指南和根本遵循。2016年8月，中共中央办公厅下发《关于加强欧美同学会（留学人员联谊会）建设的意见》，进一步明确了欧美同学会新时代发展方向。
近年来，欧美同学会深入贯彻落实习近平总书记在欧美同学会成立100周年庆祝大会重要讲话精神，努力践行留学报国人才库、建言献策智囊团、民间外交生力军的责任与使命，吸引力、凝聚力、影响力不断提高，政治性、群众性、先进性不断增强，在思想引领、组织建设、人才工作、创新创业、对外交往等方面做出了突出成绩。
欧美同学会（中国留学人员联谊会）现有42家地方组织，2家团体会员，15个国别和地区分会，个人会员突破22万人，现有常务理事125人，理事287人，海外理事35人。设有组织、宣传、联络、建言献策、团体会员、社会服务和会员活动7个专门工作委员会和商务人士委员会、企业家联谊会、MBA协会、酒店业专家委员会、美术家协会、医师协会、金融委员会等7个专业委员会，与主要留学国家的100多个海外留学人员团体建立了密切联系。
Western Returned Scholars Association
(Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China)
A Brief Introduction
Established in 1913, Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA) is a national association of returned Chinese students from overseas under the leadership of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and the guidance of the United-Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee. Since 2003, it is also called Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China.
WRSA was established in Beijing in October 1913 when the Republic of China was founded in the 1911 Revolution. Its founders and early members included such distinguished scholars who returned to China from overseas as Vi Kyuin Koo, Zhou Yichun, Jeme Tien-Yow and Cai Yuanpei.
Committed to patriotism, WRSA organized patriotic and democratic movements and devoted itself to the cause of national salvation and people’s liberation since its inception.
Since the People’s Republic was founded in 1949, WRSA was an active player under the leadership of the CPC and government in major movements, making donations to the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, assisting Chinese scholars overseas in overcoming difficulties and coming back to China, and contributing to socialist construction in China.
In 1982, WRSA resumed its operation. In the era of Reform and Opening-up, WRSA played out its strengths by launching the Dedicators Project, organizing service missions of returned Chinese scholars, and serving local economic and social development, contributing to China’s reform, opening up and modernization.
In the new century, WRSA acquired a new title—Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China to meet the requirements of the CPC leadership that it should“become a bridge between the Party and overseas students and scholars, an assistant in the work of the Party and government towards them, and a warm home.” It has intensified its efforts in ideological, organizational, cultural and membership building. Leveraging its human and intellectual resources, it has established bases for overseas scholars to make contribution to China and provided a large number of ideas and proposals for the CPC and government. It has provided good services to high-level Chinese talents overseas and become increasingly influential.
The Chinese leadership always paid close attention to overseas Chinese students and WRSA. Chairman Mao delivered a highly influential speech in the Moscow State University in 1950s in which he pinned his hopes on young Chinese students for China’s future. Premier Zhou Enlai attended many WRSA events. In 1987, Deng Xiaoping inscribed the name of WRSA Journal.In 1993, President Jiang Zemin attended the ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of WRSA and delivered the keynote speech. In 2003, President Hu Jintao attended the ceremony to commemorate the 90th anniversary of WRSA and delivered the keynote speech.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Chinese leadership led by President Xi Jinping is committed to thegrowth of WRSA.In 2013, President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WRSA and delivered the keynote speech. His speech offered guidelines for WRSA to play out its role in the future. In August 2016, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued the guidelines on the building of Western Returned Scholars Association (Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China), which further clarified its direction in the new era.
In recent years, WRSA has been working hard to follow through with what President Xi said in his 100th anniversary speech by turning itself into a talent pool in the service of the country, a think tank of good ideas and proposals and a vital force in people-to-people diplomacy. WRSA has become more appealing, coherent and influential. It has become more aware of its mission, reached out to more people, and played a leading role in more areas, making contribution to idea guidance, organizational building, human resources development, innovation, entrepreneurship and international exchanges.
Western Returned Scholars Association (Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China) has 42 local organizations, 2 institutional members, 15 national chapters. It has more than 220,000 individual members, including 125 standing directors, 287 directors and 35 overseas directors.It has seven working committees (publicity, liaison, organization, consulting, member events, social services and institutional members) and seven professional committees (MBA, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, hotel industry, artists, doctors, and finance). It keeps close contact with more than 100 associations of Chinese scholars overseas in major destination countries for Chinese students.