Dec 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to rise on Monday after comments from a top White House official raised optimism over China-U.S. trade talks ahead of an upcoming tariff deadline. China's imports rose unexpectedly in November from a year earlier, indicating signs of recovering demand in the world's second-largest economy, even as exports fell for a fourth straight month. Prospects of higher demand for commodities from Australia's top trading partner will likely buoy domestic exporters. The local share price index futures rose 0.5%, a 31-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark was up 0.4% on Friday. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.4% by 2116 GMT. Dairy major a2 Milk Company slumped about 7.4% after it said Chief Executive Jayne Hrdlicka had stepped down. (Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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