Boeing Company said it won an order from Cathay Pacific Airways for 21 Boeing 777X jets, valued at more than $7 billion at current list prices.

The 777X, due for launch in 2020, will be a derivative of Boeing's top-selling wide-body plane with new wings and engines.

Cathay Pacific expects to take delivery between 2021 and 2024, the airline said.

Boeing started selling the 777X at the Dubai Airshow last month, where it garnered a record 259 orders and commitments worth $95 billion at list prices.

The company is yet to decide where to build the 777X, which is expected to be its only new jetliner programme for the next 15 years along with the narrow-body 737 MAX jet due in 2017.

Union workers in Washington, where Boeing currently builds 777 planes, rejected a contract offer last month, leading the company to consider other places.

Meanwhile, Boeing is close to hitting its production target of building 10 of its high-tech 787 Dreamliner jets a month, a top Boeing executive said.

"It's the fastest we've ever gone on any airplane," said Jack Jones, vice-president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.

A 787 entered production at the new rate on November 14, Boeing said, but has not been completed.

Hitting the target would put Boeing on track to deliver at least 60 planes this year, Jones said. It has delivered 54 through November, despite a halt to deliveries for three months earlier this year because of overheating batteries.-Reuters