Abstract
<jats:p>This article examines nonverbal means of expressing the category of compatibility using the example of communicative interactions between the leaders of Russia and China, covered by media resources from 2013 to 2025. The theoretical framework of the study includes ideas from nonverbal semiotics, social psychology, as well as modern theories of embodied cognition and trust synchronization. Methods of thematic, semantic, and discourse analysis are used. The results of the study demonstrate the evolution of the nonverbal behavior of state leaders from formal and protocol-based (2013–2015) to informal and friendly, in which nonverbal elements play a significant role – communicative distance between subjects, gestures, facial expressions, tactile and visual contact (2013–2025). It has been established that as political relations between Russia and China develop, their leaders increasingly use nonverbal elements in communicative interactions, which is reflected in photo chronicles of meetings of the heads of state.</jats:p>