The number of criminals convicted of human trafficking has risen sharply in the first seven months of this year, the country's top court said on Tuesday.

Family members of a kidnapped boy cannot hold back their tears after their child is rescued by police and comes home to Du'an Yao autonomous county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Aug 4. [Mo Xiantao / Xinhua]

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) said 2,137 criminals were convicted in the 1,233 cases of human trafficking that were dealt with nationally from January to July, a 45.23 percent increase over the same period last year.

The severity of sentences handed out to 1,238 of the convicted were for periods of either more than five years, a life sentence or the death sentence, an increase of 75 percent over the same period last year, according to court data.

"The number of human trafficking cases continues to rise despite severe penalties for such cases. Combating human trafficking will be a long, difficult job for the courts," Sun Jungong, spokesman for the SPC, said on Tuesday.

"To the human traffickers who intentionally kidnap children for profit, we will impose severe punishments. For kidnappers sentenced to death with convictions that are up to the legal standard, the SPC will approve the sentences in order to curb such crimes," he warned.