BEIJING, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - China is certain that an October 12-14 visit to the country by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will strengthen bilateral ties, a deputy foreign minister said on Friday.

"The upcoming visit...has great importance for the development of ties in strategic partnership, the deepening of diverse cooperation and the search for solutions in the battle against the global financial crisis," Wang Guangya said.

While noting that the economic crisis had seen a decline in the volume of trade between Russia and China, the diplomat also said that both countries were determined to "return to the previous levels of development."

Putin will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council (SCO) of Heads of Government in Beijing on October 14.

The SCO, founded in 2001, consists of Russia, China and the ex-Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Wang said that the meeting would see a discussion of efforts to fight terrorism. The announcement came shortly after world media reported that al-Qaeda had declared China an "enemy of Islam."

"I am sure that at the upcoming meeting the issue of the further strengthening of cooperation in the fight against terrorism will be raised," he said.