A data communication method and a data communication apparatus are provided. The method mainly includes: receiving, by an adapter card, information elements sent by a first switching network board, in which a format of the information element is an information element format capable of being identified by the first switching network board; and performing, by the adapter card, format conversion on the information elements according to an information element format capable of being identified by a second switching network board, and sending the converted information elements to the second switching network board. In this manner, different types of switching network boards can be interconnected and communicate with each other, so as to implement data transmission between network devices having different structures.