A man has been sentenced to death by a court in southwest China after being found guilty of trafficking children into the country.

The people's court in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region announced Tuesday that Huang Qingheng had been found guilty of trafficking more than 20 children and infants since 2010, according to China's state news agency.

Huang claimed to be Vietnamese, but could offer no proof.

Xinhua reported that Huang and his gang intended to sell the children in the country after they had been smuggled in from Vietnam.

It added that they also sent pregnant woman into China to sell their unborn children.

The court upheld jail terms ranging from 22 months to life imprisonment for 23 other gang members -- both Chinese and Vietnamese nationals.

Police rescued 11 of the children in operations.