Ban Ki-moon says he likes what he's hearing when it comes to promoting sustainable development at this year's Summit in Hangzhou.

The outgoing UN chief has made the comments ahead of his departure for the G20, which will be his 11th visit to China as the Secretary-General.

"I commend China for steering¹ the G20 summit this year in such a successful way leading the G20 towards an action agenda that will come in full support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change."

The 17-point sustainable development agenda was reached last year by world leaders attending the summits to commemorate² the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

The theme of this year's G20 summit is "Toward an Innovative³, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy", with "inclusive and interconnected development" being expected to be high on the agenda.

This year's summit will also be set against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty⁴ in the global economy and the rise of trade and investment protectionism.

Ban Ki-moon says China's leadership appears to be steers⁵ the debate away from short-term financial crisis management to a long-term development goal.

"What I am most grateful as Secretary-General is that for the first time in the history of the G20, the Chinese leadership is aligning⁶ the action agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the climate change agreement, in their action agenda of the G20."

AS one of the most active promoters of the fight against climate change, Ban Ki-moon is also encouraging G20 leaders to ratify⁷ the Paris agreement as early as possible.

"We are working very hard to make sure that this climate change deal enters into effect by the end of this year. I am very grateful that Chinese President Xi has already declared the strong commitment that China will ratify before the G20. That is very encouraging news. I hope many countries, particularly those G20 countries, will follow the suit of the Chinese leadership."

So far 22 countries have ratified⁸ the Paris Agreement.

The climate change accord needs 55 countries that together account for at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions⁹ to ratify the agreement so it can enter into force.

Ban Ki-moon also says he appreciates China for including more developing countries into the discussion to make the annual debate more inclusive.