The number of people charged with the crime of buying trafficked women and children increased to 328 last year from 155 in 2000, according to an annual work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top prosecuting authority.

People accused of such trafficking dropped to 1,135 last year from 14,458 in 2000, with an average annual decline of 11.4 percent, according to the report released on Tuesday.

A crackdown on the trafficking of women and children has been a hot topic among national lawmakers and political advisers who are gathering in Beijing for the ongoing two sessions.

Over the past month, the case of a trafficked woman who seen in online video clips chained up in a rundown hut in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province, has received wide public attention.

The woman, identified as Xiaohuamei, is from Fugong county, Yunnan province. She was abducted and trafficked to Fengxian in 1998.

Her case prompted many people to call for tougher punishment, particularly for those who purchase trafficking victims. Under current Criminal Law, buyers of trafficked women face a maximum sentence of three years in jail.

The SPP report said that as the Anti-Human Trafficking Plan of China (2021-2030) is being implemented, prosecutors have been intensifying efforts to hold responsible those buying trafficked women or children, or those who do not rescue or interfere in the rescues of these victims.

Prosecutors nationwide have joined hands with other authorities to aggressively fight human trafficking, according to the report.

The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, also said in its annual work report that courts across the country will harshly punish those who sexually assault, abduct and traffic women and children, as well as people who buy the victims.