CHINA Southern Airlines and its unit, Xiamen Airlines, have agreed to buy US$10 billion in Boeing aircraft, said a filing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Reuters reported.

China Southern, the country's largest airline by fleet size, has agreed to purchase 50 B737MAX and 30 B737 Next Generation aircraft, while Xiamen Airlines has agreed to buy 30 B737 MAX planes.

The total value of the deals is CNY65.07 billion (US$10.04 billion), according to the stock exchange filings. Boeing, in a separate statement, valued China Southern's 80-plane order at $8.38 billion.

The deal comes less than three months after China President Xi Jinping visited Boeing's widebody commercial aircraft factory during his state visit to the United States.

Boeing announced orders and commitments for 300 Boeing aircraft during Xi's visit, as well a partnership with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) to open a China completion centre for the delivery of Boeing 737 aircraft.