For the Node entity type handler content sync provides the following handler settings.
Ignore unpublished content
If the "Ignore unpublished content" checkbox is set, nodes that has not yet been published won't be exported/imported.
Allow explicit unpublishing
The option "Allow explicit unpublishing" effects nodes which have been already published and have been already exported/imported.
When this checkbox is set and a node gets unpublished, the state change will also be exported/imported.