Chinese or Japanese?

Hi, beginner here!

I'm very excited to start learning. I do business with my suppliers in China and would like to know Chinese well enough to talk to them, to go around China, to learn the culture and the people. I know this is not easy, but I am willing to find ways to make myself adept at it

I am also interested in learning Japanese, because I have an interest in their culture as well. I also have a supplier from Japan and it would be interesting to know the language. Some of my friends are Japanese and there a lot of things I'd like to explore but quite difficult because of language barriers.

Some questions:

1. I am just wondering, which should I learn and why? AFAIK, Chinese is easier. Japanese there are a lot of honorifics and different conjugations.
2. I can speak English, Spanish, and German as the languages seem quite similar to each other so it is easy to learn, but realistically, how hard and how much time SHOULD I put in to learn both?
3. Any tutorials, advice, beginning steps and frustrations? Motivation?
4. I have the ability to do research in China OR Japan for my university abroad program over the summer. Which do you recommend for general living expenses / education?

Thank you for your replies!

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