U.S. health insurers look to China for growth

Hartford, CT-based Aetna plans to announce that it has opened a "representative office" in Shanghai, China. The move is the first step of a lengthy process for foreign companies interested in doing business in the country. Other insurers, such as UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint, have established such offices in China, and CIGNA has already hooked up with a Chinese company to sell supplemental health insurance there. U.S. insurers are fighting each other for members in their own nation's strained economy, and are searching for more growth opportunities and entering more countries around the world.