Hong Kong (CNN) China has issued an updated code of ethics for journalists that calls on reporters to uphold the authority of the Communist Party and be guided by the ideology of President Xi Jinping.

Prescribed media guidelines are not unusual in China, where reporters operate within a heavily-censored environment that is tightly controlled by Communist authorities. However, the explicit reference to Xi is likely to sound alarm among freedom of speech advocates.

The code, which was published Sunday by the All-China Journalists Association , was last updated in 2009, three years before Xi came to power. In the decade since, media restrictions in China have tightened significantly amid ongoing efforts by Xi to consolidate his position as the country's most powerful leader since founder Mao Zedong.

Though much of the country's media is state-owned, Beijing has been increasingly unwilling to allow dissenting voices. At least 48 journalists have been imprisoned in China for a range of offenses in the past 12 months, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists

The new detailed code is laid out across seven sections and covers areas relating to personal conduct and political mindset.

Read More