I strongly disagree in general, some manufacturers are terrible - but this is only characteristic of the cheapest sets. Good quality sets are fantastic, I’ve built multiple 1-5k+ sets from china and none of what you’re describing is true of them. I’ve seen poorer quality, but it’s always on the cheapest of the cheap, 1k+ sets for £15.

Minifigs and stickers are often lacking, I’ll grant you that.

Lego is also not the be all and end all of quality - broken brown bricks, mould marks and colour mismatches I’ve all seen on genuine Lego sets.

To say you get what you pay for is patently wrong, 98%+ of the quality for 20% of the price.