(For more coverage of Obama's Asia trip, click [nOBAMAASIA])

* Jobs, push for exports to be a focus on nine-day tour

* Beijing's signal on currencies may give Obama a boost

* Asian countries may push back at Obama's trade message

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama leaves for Asia on Thursday with the U.S. economy, jobs and a yawning trade deficit with China looming large on his agenda.

Global climate change, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear disputes and Obama's review of his Afghanistan strategy are also major topics for his talks with the Chinese and other officials on the first trip of his presidency to Asia.

In an interview with Reuters this week, Obama described China as a "vital partner, as well as a competitor."

But he warned of "enormous strains" in relations between the world's two most powerful nations if economic imbalances between them were not corrected.