China to Order Around 60 Boeing 7E7 Dreamliners Thursday January 27, 2:36 PM EST DALLAS -- After months of negotiating and diplomatic delays, six Chinese airlines will be allowed to order a combined total of about 60 of Boeing Co.'s ( BA) new 7E7 Dreamliner airplane. The order would be worth about $7.2 billion at list prices and would be a strong boost to Boeing's efforts to secure a foothold world-wide for its new 250-seat jetliner. According to Chinese aviation sources, the six major airlines in China have been eager to get their order in for the 7E7s so that the first of the planes can be delivered in time for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Boeing declined to comment on which airplanes are being ordered, but the company issued an advisory Thursday afternoon saying that Boeing and China would sign a "commercial airplane preliminary agreement" at the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday. -By J. Lynn Lunsford, The Wall Street Journal; 214-951-7113 Roger EWROPS