Original: While Deng never held office as the head of state , head of government or General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ( historically the highest position in Communist China ) , he nonetheless served as the paramount leader of the People 's Republic of China from 1978 to the early 1990s .
Simplified: Deng never held office as the head of state or the head of government , but was the de facto leader of the Peoples Republic of China from 1978 to the early 1990s .