Reuters is reporting http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/AR2006040502286.html that Chinese president Hu Jintao is likely to announce a major Boeing order when he arrives here later this month.

This would be totally in keeping with form — Chinese leaders often ink deals with U.S. companies on state visits here, and we all know they buy Boeing planes. But in my conversations with Boeing people about Hu’s visit, they’ve so far downplayed the prospects.

But Reuters talked with a spokeswoman with the Chinese consulate in L.A., who said …

Key Quote: “A deal with Boeing could be signed before Hu’s White House visit. ‘If you include the contract for Boeing, the total would be about $15 billion,’ Xiaomei said.”

The size of the order Reuters talks about — $10 billion or $11 billion — is huge. That would be 50-plus widebodies. I haven’t heard a peep about a China order that big, but I’ll see what I can find out. Look for a story in The Herald.