I kinda thought more folks would know this, but I’ll have to chime in here. Until you get up to high end handbuilt frames (in my day it was Eisentraut, Hetchins, Strawberry, etc.) they are all the same except for the name. I was in the bike business 50+ years, I was a Fuji rep, a Bianchi rep, a Colnago rep, even a Muddy Fox rep. At any particular price point, all the bikes out there will have minor differences in parts selection and frame geometry, but they will have been built by the same handful of factories in Asia. This cheerleading for any one particular brand is just folks justifying their purchase. No one company has the secret to building a better bike.
All the Colnagos I sold except the steel Master and the lugged and glued carbon bike were made in Taiwan. All the Bianchis I sold except for some steel Reparto Corsa bikes were made in Taiwan. In fact I’ve seen pictures of the Giant assembly line with Pinarellos, Colnagos, Treks, and Giants all hanging there in one place. Most of the big names in bikes are mainly marketing companies, not manufacturers. Specialized is Merida, Fuji is Ideal, Giant is the aforementioned plus a lot more.
It’s just silly to knock one bike over another. It’s best to find a shop that you like dealing with, a geometry that fits you, and a color you like, and buy it, ride it, and don’t concern yourself so much with the name on the frame, or other people’s choices.